Apocalypse
by officalkorra
Summary: 187 days. That's how long it's been since the start of the apocalypse. Since Korra had been forced to live in the Hell that the world is putting her through. She wants to live. Even if it means doing things that no human should have to ever do. Tired and in pain, Korra will do whatever it takes to beat this world. Will she survive?
1. Chapter 1

**Here's the prologue to a new story that I have created.**

Bullets flew past Korra's head, just barely missing her. She hid behind a crate full of something or another. She didn't care. She grunted as she reloaded ammunition into her gun. She raised her hand over the crate as she shot blindly at the group that was shooting at her.

"You're not gonna get away with this!" A man shouted.

"We will kill you!" Another promised

Korra ignored them and focused on not getting shot. She stayed as close to the ground as she could to avoid getting a face full of lead. Fuck...where the hell is everyone? They had all gotten separated during the attack. Some went after Bolin, some went after Asami, others went after the twins and it seemed like the majority of them went after Korra. It made sense since she had basically killed the leader of the group.

Still, why did they all have to come after me?

Korra chided herself at the thought. Of course, she didn't want all of these bastards coming after her but deep down, she was glad that most of them did come after her. At least she knew that the others didn't have as much to worry about.

But that didn't mean that they couldn't take care of themselves. Korra knew damn well that the others could take care of themselves just fine. Besides, they had saved Korra's life more than once.

Korra raised her hand over the crates and shot some more bullets in the other group's direction. She then brought her hand back as to not get her hand blown off. The last thing she needed was to loose her right hand and have to be forced to use her left. That wouldn't be good.

"Come out so we can kill you!"

"You'll pay for what you did!"

As if, Korra thought.

Suddenly, Korra heard grunting come from behind a crate on her right. As quick as lightning, Korra turned in the mentioned direction and raised her gun at the person crawling out from behind the crates.

"Don't shoot!" Bolin exclaimed over the sound of gunfire.

"Bolin." Korra sighed as she lowered her gun from his forehead. Good thing she looked before shooting. That would have been bad. "What are you doing? You need to get out of here!"

Korra took a better look at her friend. His hair was all over the place and he had a bloody cut on his face. His jacket was ripped and it was soaked with blood on the left side. He was clutching his left shoulder. Korra wondered why he was doing that when she pieced two and two together.

"You've been shot!" Korra stated.

Bolin just chuckled. "Yeah no shit. I'll be okay."

"Bolin, you already lost so much blood. There is no way that you'll be okay. I can't believe that you haven't past out yet from blood lose."

"I didn't loose that much blood, Korra."

"Bo! You're jacket on the left side is completely soaked!"

"Korra! I'm fine! I'll be okay! Okay?"

Korra studied him for a bit. His face was twisted in agony and he looked like he was about to pass out from the pain. Who wouldn't? Being shot hurt like a bitch. Korra would know. Still, Bolin looked as if he was ready for a fight. He probably was. Korra had learned a long time ago that if Bolin said that he was all right, then he was going to be all right.

"Okay." Korra finally said, reluctantly. She raised her hand over the crate again and fired more bullets. Do you know where everyone else is?"

"I saw the twins run out together after they helped me take out some of these bastards. I told them to wait for us. They should be out there now."

"Are they going to be okay on their own?"

"Korra, trust me. They may be young but they are tough as hell. They'll be fine."

Korra nodded as more bullets flew past.

"Come the fuck out!" A man yelled.

"Fuck you!" Bolin yelled back.

"Where's Asami?" Korra asked.

"I don't know." Bolin replied. He was panting and clutching his shoulder tighter. "I haven't seen her since the attack started."

"Fuck...do you think they-"

"No. I don't. Asami is so much smarter than they are and she tough. I'm sure she got out."

Korra nodded again. Bolin reassuring her was what she needed. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if Asami was really okay. She hoped she was. She didn't have much time to think about it. She raised her hand over the crate again and fired more bullets.

"We will-" The man didn't get a chance to finish the sentence as a bullet entered his skull. He fell to the ground with his eyes opened as dark blood poured out of the new hole that had been created by Korra.

Korra fired more bullets. She kept firing until she heard a dull click. She brought her hand back and aimed forward, pulling the trigger and being rewarded with another dull click.

"Fuck." Korra muttered. "I'm out. Do you have more bullets?"

Bolin shook his head, his face getting paler and paler by the second. "No. I ran out a while ago."

"Damn it. We need to get out of here."

"Yeah, but how?"

Korra hadn't exactly thought that far ahead yet. She looked around and saw nothing but more boxes and crates. Oh, and dead bodies. Hopefully they hadn't reanimated yet. It was bad enough they had these sick fuckers to worry about, they didn't need any of these dead corpses coming around and making an even bigger mess of things.

But how were they going to get out? Maybe they could duck and cover? There were enough crates to do that. Korra got to her hands and knee and tried to crawl over to another crate. She had to pull back when a bullet flew right past her nose. She pressed herself back to her original cover next to Bolin, who was panting even harder.

"Okay." Korra muttered nearly in shock about almost dying. Again. "Running and hiding behind cover isn't an option."

Korra continued to think of a way for both of them to get out alive. It was hard with all of the bullets flying around. Duck and cover wasn't going to happen since neither of them had ammo. Shooting their way out wasn't going to happen for the same reason. Just sitting here was just going to get them killed anyway. Fuck, how the hell were they going to get out of here?

"Distraction." Bolin muttered.

Korra looked at him. "What?"

"We...we need a distraction."

"Okay? What kind of distraction?"

Bolin looked like he was going to regret what he was about to say. "See that door over there?" He pointed to a set of double doors on the far left.

"Yeah." Korra stated.

"We they were giving us a tour, I snuck away and went to see what was inside there. Korra, there are a ton of explosives in there."

"So?"

"So, I'm going to run in there was lead as many as I can in there. It'll give you a chance to get out and find the twins and Asami."

"What? No! Bolin, that's suicide!"

"It's not! All of the explosives are locked away in steel boxes. Bullets won't make a dent in that."

"No! You don't know what will happen if you go in there! Worst case scenario the whole place will explode with you inside it!"

"Best case scenario I get out and meet the rest of you back at the camp!"

"No! You're already hurt! You can't risk your life like this! I should be the one to distract them and you should get out and meet the rest of the group!"

"No Korra! You have something to live for! You have Asami and you treat the twins as if they're your own! I don't."

"Yes you do!" Korra countered. "Bolin we need you. You keep us together! You lighten the mood and you saved all of our lives more that I can count. You-"

Bolin took Korra's shoulders and forced her to stop talking. He looked deep in her eyes. Blue against green. His eyes were filled with determination. They had a silent staring contest as more bullets flew past.

"I have to do this." Bolin said quietly. "I have to. For Mako and Opal."

Korra felt tears well in her eyes. "Mako wouldn't want you to do this and what happened to Opal wasn't your fault."

Bolin smiled sadly. "Yes he would. He'd want me to die protecting you. And what happened to Opal was my fault and this is how I'm going to make it up to her."

Footsteps were slowly approaching them.

"There isn't time." Bolin stated. "If I die, I die. If I live, I'll meet you all at the camp."

Korra surged forward and him in a tight embrace, hot tears sliding down her grimy face, leaving streaks. She didn't want to admit it, But she knew that this was the only way and the best chance for them to get out alive.

Even if it was just one of them.

"Please be careful." Korra whispered.

"I will." Bolin replied, just a quiet.

Korra pulled away, not even caring that she got Bolin's blood all over her shirt. She wiped away at her tears.

"I love you." She stated.

"I love you too."

Korra reached into her belt and pulled out a knife. She handed it to Bolin.

"Please be careful." She muttered.

"I already told you I would." Bolin said lightly. "When I get up, you leave as soon as possible. Find Asami and the twins and get out of here. Okay?"

"Bolin..."

"Okay?"

"...okay..."

They gave each other one final hug that felt too much like a goodbye. They pulled away, both with fresh tears in their eyes. Bolin took a deep breath and gathered as much energy as he could and stood up from his cover.

"HEY!" He shouted, dodging behind a tall crate as a bullet grazed past him. "I'M HERE! COME AND GET ME!"

Bolin ran as fast as he could to the double doors. Even though he was badly hurt, he managed to make it to the door and ran inside. All of the guys ran after him.

"What about the girl?" One of the men asked as he ran past Korra's hiding spot.

"Screw her." Another guy said. "She's not going far. We'll find and deal with her when we've finished with him"

They ran off. Funny how they would rather deal with a guy who had tried to make friends with a few days ago than a girl who basically killed their leader.

Then again, a few days ago if Korra had been thinking things through, they wouldn't be in this situation right now.

Korra shook her head and waited until all of the guys had ran after Bolin. She stood up from her spot, looked around and made sure the coast was clear before she ran off into the opposite direction that Bolin had ran. She ran through the darkness of the warehouse that she was inside. She had to use her memory to remember which way she had come from.

As she ran, she thought of Bolin. Stupid, dumb, idiotic, amazing Bolin. Fuck...she couldn't believe that her incredible friend would risk his life for her and after all of the shit that she had put him and his brother and girlfriend through. She didn't deserve a friend as incredible as him. She didn't even deserve to have him save her life multiple times. And now that he was risking blowing himself up just to make sure that she got out safe with the twins and Asami brought tears to her eyes, blurring her vision. She wiped them quickly. Bolin didn't deserve her tears. She didn't even deserve to be alive.

He should have killed me when he had the chance.

After running for what seemed like an eternity, Korra finally busted through the door that lead outside. She looked around. Where were the twins? Bolin said that they were out here.

Korra's ears picked up the sounds of gunshots. She heard screaming and she pulled out a knife from her boot and ran towards that sound of the guns firing. As she rounded the building, she saw that the twins were surrounded by Creepers. They were yelling and shooting at the corpses that were slowly advancing on them. Gripping her knife tighter, she ran towards them and began to stab every Creeper that she could get her hands on. Stab after stab after stab, Korra released her frustration as each corpse fell to the ground. She didn't even notice that the twins had stopped shooting and stared in awe as Korra continued to kill every last Creeper. Finally, all of them were dead as they laid in a heap of dead limbs all around Korra.

Korra panted and tried to catch her breath. She placed her hands on her knees on knees as sweat dripped down her chin and onto the ground beneath her. Her knife dripped with blood. She wiped it off on her jeans. After she caught her breath, mostly, she faced the twins.

"Are you two okay?" She asked, putting away her knife.

"Yeah." Alexis stated, putting her gun away. "We're fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah we're sure." Destiny said. She then help out her arms and turned around full circle. "See? No bites. We can handle ourselves."

Korra walked up to Destiny and rubbed her messy hair. "No doubt about that." She said.

Alexis looked around. "Where's Bolin?"

Korra looked down as she felt more tears blur her vision. She wiped them away before the twins could see them.

"He's still inside the warehouse." She stated. "He's been shot."

"What?!" Destiny exclaimed. "And you just left him?! We have to go help him!"

"We can't. He...He's probably..."

"Probably what?" Alexis asked.

"Nothing." Korra reassured. "He's fine. He's just taking longer to get out."

"Dead." Destiny muttered.

Korra and Alexis looked at her.

"What?" She asked. "I'm just saying what nobody else is going to say. He's probably dead isn't he? If he wasn't, then he's be out here with use."

Korra shook her head. She couldn't lie to them.

"I don't know." She said, morbid. "He could be fine but for all we know. He could be dead."

Destiny nodded and looked down.

"Is that his blood on your shirt?" She asked.

Korra nodded and Destiny slowly nodded. It was silent for a few moments before Korra looked around and realized that something, or someone, was missing.

"Where's Asami?" She asked.

The twins looked as each other. Korra hated when they did that because they always had a silent conversation when they gave each other that look. The both looked back at Korra.

"We don't know." Alexis said.

Korra almost wanted to laugh because it sounded almost as if she said that they didn't know where Asami was. "What?"

"We don't know." Destiny repeated for her sister.

Korra shook her head in disbelief. She then turned at looked out into the horizon. Asami...she wasn't with them...

Korra didn't bother stopping the tears that formed. She fell to the ground and began to sob. She sobbed loud, heartbroken sobbing. She didn't even care if her cries brought every Creeper within the miles, she sobbed and sobbed. How could she have let this happen? She had promised Asami that she would protect her and now she was missing. This was all her fault. Her and her fucking decision.

Korra didn't notice the twins sit on either side of her.

"This is all my fault." Korra stated through choked sobs. "This is all my fault."

"Hey." Alexis soothed. "No it's not."

"Yes it is! If I hadn't trusted those fuckers in the first place, Bolin wouldn't have had to risk his life and Asami would not be missing."

"Korra this isn't your fault." Destiny assured. "Any of us would have made the same mistake."

"Nut mine has probably gotten Bolin killed and Asami..."

Korra broke down crying again. She was such a fucking idiot.

"Maybe they got away." Alexis added hopefully.

"Yeah." Korra sniffed. "Maybe. They're both though as fuck. They...they probably made it out..."

"Come on." Destiny said. "It's getting late and it's a long walk back to camp-"

"No! We have to look for them. Asami! She could be out there somewhere! We can't just leave her!"

"We're not! But it won't help any of us to stumble around in the dark! The best chance of finding Asami is if we have daylight on our side and I don't know about you but I ran out of ammo and you know that I'm not good with knives."

Korra didn't like it, but Destiny had a point. They couldn't look for Asami in the dark and with no guns, things would just be tired. Plus, Korra was exhausted. She would probably pass out before long and die before she even started looking for Asami. Reluctantly, Korra nodded.

"Okay." She said. "First thing in the morning, we look for Asami and Bolin."

The twins nodded and stood up along with Korra. They began to walk down the long, deserted road. They had managed to get about a hundred feet before the warehouse behind them exploded.

 **So here is the prologue. Did you guys enjoy what you might read later? Should I continue? Please let me know if I should continue on with this story. Sorry for any spelling errors. My tumblr (if you want to follow it) is officalkorra. Just type that in and I should be there. Yeah. Leave your thoughts below. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Days Gone By

**Here is the first official first chapter of Apocalypse. Hopefully it will be good and hopefully you guys will think it's good. So yeah, hope you guys like it.**

Huff...

Huff...

Huff...

Korra panted and wheezed as she ran through the forest. She had been running for who knows how long. Long enough for her to feel as if she was about to pass out. Her lungs were threatening to set themselves on fire and heart felt as if it were about to burst. Her legs were turning to jelly at an alarming rate and the sweat that had formed on her forehead was streaming down her face and into her eyes and mouth, leaving her slightly blurry vision and irritated and having the taste of salt fill her mouth.

Despite this, she continued to run.

Korra had no idea how long it had been since the Outbreak, but she assumed it had been a while. Months, mostly likely, if she kept her days straight. Was it Monday or Friday? Saturday or Wednesday? She didn't know and honestly, she could care less about the day of the week. As long as she survived that day to live onto the next.

Korra couldn't take anymore of this running. She slowed down to a slow jog and eventually, to a walk. She walked up to a tree and rested both of her hands against the huge, thick trunk and let her head lob uselessly between her shoulders. She stood there and tried to even out her heavy breathing. Sweat slid down her cheeks and to her chin where it would gather up and when it got too heavy, drip down onto the grass and dirt between her feet, creating tiny pools of mud. Once her breathing had been restored to a somewhat normal pace, Korra turned around. She removed her backpack and sat it on the ground. Moving backwards until her back hit the tress, Korra slid down its length until she was sitting on the ground. She leaned her head back against the tree and sighed heavily, but softly, as to not draw attention to herself. She didn't know what was in this forest and preferred to keep it that way.

Korra sat still and listened. She head no groans of corpses or the rustling of uneven footsteps coming towards her. She breathed a relieved sigh. Good, she was alone. She looked over to her right and stared out into the distance. They sky had turned a beautiful shade of orange and purple but Korra didn't the heart in her admire it. Besides, all it did was remind her that she had, maybe an hour at most before it would become dark. She needed to find some shelter before then, unless she wanted to go trekking around in the dark.

She looked up and stared at the tall trees all around her and the colors they currently were. They were mostly green, with noticeable streaks of red, yellow, and orange. Clearly it was Spring. The only reason Korra knew this was because she had endured a long, harsh, tragic winter...

No Korra. Don't think about that.

She decided to turn her thoughts back to the day when the world went to shit.

The day had been bright and quiet. Korra had decided that today would be a good day to go out for a jog. She hadn't done that in a while. Running upstairs, she went into her room and stripped out of the jeans and blue tank top that she had been wearing and threw it onto the floor. Nearly ripping the drawer out of the dresser, she put on a deep blue sports bra and a pair of short, blue, running shorts. She then walked into her closet and pulled out a pair of black running shoes. It had been a while since she had last worn them, due to the fact that she had been super busy and just hasn't had the time to go out on the jog that she planned on doing weeks ago. Once she was dress, she grabbed her keys off of the dresser and ran downstairs. Walking into the kitchen, she had grabbed two ice cold water bottles from the refrigerator and two granola bars that she placed on top of her washing machine. Then, she walked to her door and opened it. Stepping outside, she closed the door behind her and locked it. She then turned to face her car, a 2013 Honda Civic, and pressed the button to unlock it. She made her way to the passenger seat and put down her water and granola bar. Closing the door, she walked around to the driver's seat. She got in and put the keys into the ignition and soon enough, she was backing out of her driveway and on her way to the park. It had a huge track there and it was easily about ten miles long. Perfect for running.

As Korra drove, she noticed that the streets seemed unusually quiet. She didn't think much of it. Other than the neighborhood hood rats, sorry, kids that made up most of the noise, the place was quiet. But still, it was three in the afternoon and the hood rats were usually out here, riding their bikes, or playing tag, or shooting each other with water guns. Not a single child was in sight. Korra just focused on driving.

After a fifteen minuet drive, Korra had finally arrived to the park. She had pulled up along a curb and turned off her vehicle. She stepped out, taking her keys with her. She took note of the fact that there were no other cars her but hers. She breathed in the fresh air and smiled. It felt good being able to go outside again. She looked out into the grass where a park laid. Korra raised an eyebrow at how empty it was. The water was sprinkling but there was no one running through it. The swings had no one swinging on it, there wasn't anyone hanging upside down on the monkey bars. She heard no cries of joy that she usually heard when the kids would slide down on the slide. Korra wondered if there was a holiday that she didn't know about. Shrugging, she walked through the grass and towards the track. It must have been repaved recently. Good. The last time Korra was here, it was pretty sad looking. Cracks appeared every step you took, parts of the pavement were jutting up from the ground, so if you weren't careful, you would most likely trip and fall, and the color had once been a sorry looking greenish blue color. That had been a few months ago. Now it was fresh. No cracks or juts of pavement and now it was covered with a layer of white. It looked nice. Walking onto the track, Korra stretched for a few minuets, so she wouldn't pull a muscle, and started her jog along the track.

It was only a few minuets in before Korra started to get suspicious. Where was everyone? This place was usually pack, especially on a Saturday. Most times, she couldn't find a decent place to park. Now, there was nothing but the wind. Korra felt the sun beam down onto her and the sweat drip down her face and onto her collarbone. She stopped jogging and looked around in her new location. To her left was a huge field of grass. In the distance, she could make out the outline of the city. It seemed pretty far away, despite the fact that Korra was just there a few hours ago. She looked to her right and saw a similar field of green. This time, she saw the park. Still no one there. There was also a porta potty sitting on the edge of the pavement. Korra didn't feel the need to go to the bathroom and even if she did, she would hold it, Porta potties were gross and that was just an understatement.

Korra looked back out to her right and this time, in the field of grass, she could see a figure, a bit far off, walking through the grass. Korra wondered why they would be marching through the grass when there was concrete right where she was walking. She wondered if he knew what was going on. Korra shouted towards him.

"Hey!" Korra cupped her hands and shouted through them. "Hey, excuse me!"

The figure turned towards her direction. Korra felt a chill run through her. Something told her that she shouldn't be shouting but she ignored it and walked closer towards the man, or woman.

"Excuse me!" Korra yelled again, still too far away to make out the appearance of the figure. She walked closer, feeling that chill again. That nagging thought in the back of her mind telling her to leave as soon as possible. "Sorry to bother you! I just want to ask you something!"

Her instincts told her to run but she ignored it and moved closer. The figure seemed to be walking as if they had a limp. Were they hurt?

"Are you hurt?" Korra voiced her thoughts.

The figure moved closer and the smell smacked Korra right in the face. Holy shit, they smelled terrible! Korra began to hack violently. Did this person take a bath in the sewer? Jesus, they smelled like death. Once the coughing subsided, Korra looked at the figure, who was close enough to make out who they were. Or in this case, what they were.

This person, thing, whatever, looked horrible. They had gray, decaying skin, hair that was in patches on their head, milky white eyes, and bloody clothing. They were making a horrible groaning sound but that wasn't what had scared Korra. What had scared her was the fact that this person, had their guts falling out of where their stomach used to be.

Korra screamed loudly as the figure came closer. She fell backwards. The...person? Was that even a person? It didn't matter. It came closer. Korra backed away and scrambled to her feet. She turned and ran back towards the pavement. Once she was on it, she noticed another figure walking towards her.

"Oh thank God." She sighed, walking towards the figure. "Please help! There's this crazy person coming after-"

Korra shut her mouth when she noticed who she was talking to. This person, a woman, looked just like the figure Korra was trying to get away from. Hair in tuffs, milky, hungry eyes, bloody clothes. She was also walking as if one of her legs were broken. She groaned towards Korra and started to walked towards her.

Korra backed away. She was at a loss for words. What the hell was this? What the hell were they? Turning around, Korra ran right into the first figure that had managed to catch up towards her in her state of shock. They both fell to the ground, Korra on top. She quickly got up and tried to run before the figure grabbed her leg, causing her to fall once again. She rolled onto her back, just as the figure climbed on top of her. Gnawing and biting at her, Korra put her hands on the figure's shoulder and tried to push them off. They were heavy and determined to rip her throat out. With one last burst of energy, Korra managed to pus them off of her and get up. She ran.

"What just happened?" Korra asked herself. "What the fuck just happened!?"

She didn't have answers. She looked behind her and saw the two people walked towards her. Korra found the porta potty that she had passed earlier and ran into it, locking the door behind her. She leaned her back against the door, nearly puking to the smell of this potty.

What had just happened? Those two...things had attacked her. What the hell? What did they want!? Korra didn't have time to think before she heard pounding and groaning against the door. Korra shrieked. The pounding and groaning got louder and louder. Fuck. She had trapped herself. There was no way out! What the hell was she gonna do...

Korra shook her head out of the memory. She sniffed and became aware of the tears that began forming in her eyes. She took the sleeve of her jacket and wiped her eyes.

Now's not the time to start crying. I got out of there...that's all that matters...

Grabbing her backpack, Korra decided to take inventory. Spreading her legs, she placed her backpack between them. She unzipped the top zipper and began to take out some of her items. First, she pulled out a water bottle that was halfway filled. Unscrewing the cap, Korra placed the top at her lips and took a long swing of refreshing water. It was warm due to the fact that it had been in her backpack all day but Korra learned not to complain. Fresh, clean water was hard to come by so even if it was scorching hot, Korra would still drink it. She placed the lid back on and sat the bottle down next to her and continued to rummage through her pack.

Next, she pulled out a zip lock bag filled with beef jerky. Korra didn't particularly like beef jerky but, again, she would take what she could get her hands one. She didn't eat any. She just sat it down next to the water bottle. Next came out three cans of Chef Boy ravioli she had found when she had been scavenging an abandoned house for supplies. She would probably open one up later. Setting those aside, Korra pulled out a lighter that she had recently found and hasn't had the chance to use yet. Instead of putting that to the side, she placed it in her pocket. Still rummaging, Korra took out a flashlight that needed new batteries. It had gone out while Korra had gotten caught in the darkness. Korra put that down and revealed a few pads and tampons. Just because it was the apocalypse didn't mean that the woman body still didn't go through its cycle. Korra grimaced as she put those back in her pack. She dug deeper and her hand grasped a flimsy piece of paper. She took the object out and stared at it.

She examined the photo of her family, about a year before shit hit the fan. It was taken in front of the University that she had just graduated from. Standing to her left was her mother. She had on a beautiful blue dress with silver lining around the neck and arms. Her eyes were red and puffy because she had just finished crying after seeing her daughter graduate. She had a watery smile on her face. On her right, Korra's father had his arm wrapped around her waist and a huge smile on his face. He was dressed in a crisp clean blue suit complimented with a yellow tie. He had a proud look on his regal face. Then in the middle stood Korra herself, lifting her degree and smiled a face splitting smile. She had on a navy blue gown along with a navy blue hat. She had worked so hard to get to that point and she finally had something to show for it. She was beyond proud. It was that happiest and greatest moment of her life. She was ecstatic.

Korra sniffled and felt tears welling in her eyes. This time, she didn't even bother trying to hide them. She let them fall and splash right onto the photo as she thought of her family getting torn apart. Her mother had died in the early days of the Outbreak, probably about a month into the madness. Korra had wanted to save her, she had a chance to save her!

But her father wouldn't let her.

Her father...Korra took a shaky breath. Her and her father had been separated about...a month ago? Maybe two? Korra had lost count of the days but that didn't mean that she still didn't think about it everyday. She still what her father had instructed her to do before they had been broken apart.

"Korra!" Her father yelled over gunfire. "Stay down!"

"I am down!" Korra shouted back.

"Damn it...okay. Honey, listen, he's what you're going to do. I'm going to cover you and you are going to run. You are going to run back to our hide out."

"What? No, Dad! I'm not leaving you!"

"You have to! I can give you time to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving without you!"

"Korra you have to! Just listen. When I go to shoot, run back to the hide out and stay there. Stay there until I come back. If I'm not back in two days, leave."

"Leave? You want me to just leave?!"

"Yes! Don't come looking for me. I will find you,"

"How?"

"I always find you. Please, baby girl, please just go."

"Dad..." Korra felt tears fall down her face.

"I will find you." Her father had promised. "Okay?"

"...okay...I love you."

"I love you too. Now get ready. One...two...three!"

Korra began to cry more violently. She quieted the noise she was making. She didn't need any Creepers creeping up on her. She had disobeyed her father's instructions and went back to where everything had went down. She saw so many bodies. Some were completely dead, others had been walking around, reanimated and ready to feast. She hadn't seen her father's body. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was beyond Korra but knowing her father, he had gotten out. He always did. But still, it had been too long since Korra had last seen him and in this world, who knows?

He was most likely dead.

Stop it. He's fine. You know it, the world knows it, even people who don't know you know it.

So why didn't she believe it?

Korra rubbed her eyes and began to wipe away her tears. There was no sense in crying. Especially not out here in the open where even the slightest noise would have a pack of Creepers pounce of you and rip the flesh from your bones. Korra hated Creepers so much. Dead, reanimated corpses. They all varied in shapes, sizes, scariness, but if they all had something in common, it was they way they smelled. You could usually smell them before you could hear them and if you smelled one, then you needed to get out of the area quickly. If you didn't, it was it for you. One bite was all it took. Even they tiniest of scratches would do you in. And despite the fact that they were slow as hell, they traveled in packs and were vicious. If one got you, your were basically dead. Gone. One of them.

Korra wanted to avoid being one of them.

When her tears finally went away, Korra began to put everything back into her backpack, starting with the photo, making sure to stuff it as deep in her pack as possible. She zipped up her pack and pushed it to the side. She began to take inventory again, but this time, of her weapons. She first pulled out her gun from its holster on the right side of her belt. She examined it. A glock 17. Nothing fancy but it got the job done. Korra unloaded the clip and checked the ammo. Six bullets. Korra shrugged. No reason to reload since it wasn't empty yet. She returned it back to its home on her belt. She began to make sure she still had all of her knives. The knife on her belt was still by her side. It was basically her go to knife. Something to get the job done quickly, quietly, and efficiently. She stuck her hand into her left pocket and pulled out a black and green army Swiss knife. She had found it when she had accidently impaled herself on it. She put it back and shifted her position until she was sitting in sort of a crisscross position, except the bottom of her boots were touching. She stuck her hand into the boots and felt around until both of her hands felt the knives that her boots had been harboring. Her father had taught her about that. If she was ever interrogated and took her weapons, they would never find the ones hidden in her boots. She pulled her hands back. Using her right hand, she reached across her back and pulled out her machete. It was her prime go to weapon when she didn't have a gun. Korra examined it. The hilt was a dusty brown color, possibly due to the fact that the color was staring to fade. The actual knife, however, was streaked with dried blood. Korra cringed. She remembered exactly how that blood had gotten there. It had been a few hours since the incident and Korra hadn't gotten a chance to clean it yet. She would have to soon. She put the machete back into the strap on her back.

Once all of her weapons were accounted for, Korra put her legs out in front of her, placed her hands on her knees, and lent forward to stretch her aching back. She heard a few pops. She leaned back and began to crack her knuckles. She began to stretch her arms. Korra looked out to the right again. The sun was getting lower. Shit, how long had she been sitting here? Too long. Grabbing her backpack, Korra stood up slowly, as her legs were still sore from that long run. She put the back on her back and let out a grunt. She needed to find shelter.

She walked, cautious to keep it slow as to listen for Creeper but not too slow to where she would be walking around long after night had fallen. She picked up her pace just a little bit, also being aware of each step she made. She hated how quiet and cautious she had to be but that was one of the rules of this new world. She now understood what people meant when they said 'slow and steady wins the race.'

It wasn't long before she gotten out of the forest and onto a long, deserted road. It was littered with leaves, so every step Korra made, there was a scary crunching noise sounding from her boots. But she walked along it anyway. It was getting dark fast and Korra wanted to be able to tell her left from her right. She walked down the road until she spotted a run down, two story house. She began her trip towards it. From a distance, it looked okay, but as Korra got closer, she could tell just how bad it was. The wood was rotting, the windows were smashed and it probably smelled awful. Like something her dog, Naga would leave after she had finished using the world as her bathroom...

Korra sighed at the thought of Naga, her best friend. She didn't dwell too much on it. She had cried enough tears for one day. She kept going until she stood on the porch of the house. Pulling out her gun, Korra opened the door slowly with a soft creek. She knocked on the door frame a couple of times and waited. Nothing. Slowly, Korra walked in, closing the door behind her, and then raising up her gun. She made sure to check each area thoroughly. Nothing in the kitchen. Literally nothing. There wasn't anything in the cabinets or in the refrigerator. There wasn't even a sink. She checked the bathroom. There was no toilet. Opening the medicine cabinets, she found an almost empty bottle of aspirin. She took it and placed it in her pocket. Something told her that she was going to be needing it to calm the headache that she knew that she was going to get later. She walked into the dining room. Nothing but an expensive looking table and a couple of chairs. Going into the living room, she saw a long, worn out couch, a few pictures, a smashed coffee table and a broken TV. Korra walked up to one of the pictures that were hanging on the wall. had multiple pictures in one frame actually. One of the photos showed a woman with brown hair and blue eyes and a man with black hair and green eyes. They were both smiling down at the baby that was in a bundle of blankets in the mother's arms. Korra couldn't tell if the baby was a boy or a girl but it had the father's black hair and the mother's blue eyes. Another picture showed the same people, just older. They were having a cook out, due to the fact that there was a grill in the picture. The man had a plate of hamburgers in his hands and the child, who now Korra knew was a boy, was captured running with a hotdog in his hand. The mother was just sitting in a lawn chair and smiling. They all looked happy, not giving a single care to the world around them

When was the last time Korra felt happy?

Stop it. Korra thought. This wasn't the time to get sad or wishful. She was playing the hand that she had been dealt. All she had to wonder is if this hand allowed her to survive.

She walked away from the pictures and walked towards the stairs that were in the corner of the room. She stared up into the dark void above her. She was debating whether or not to go up there. She placed on hand on the steps and knocked loudly on it. And waited. She heard nothing but the sound of her breathing. Good, she was alone. Korra decided to wait until the morning to check out the upstairs. Right now, her eyes were starting to sting every time she blinked. She was tired. She had been up since the crack of dawn. She deserved to be tired. She made her way to the couch. Taking off her pack and machete, she leaned both of them against the couch before flopping down on it. Her boots remained on her feet along with the rest of her clothes. She didn't want to take them off. What if she needed to get up and leave at a moment's notice. She very well couldn't fight off Creepers or other people in the nude. That would be embarrassing.

Despite the tiredness she felt, Korra didn't fall asleep yet. She had too many thoughts running around in her head, not allowing her to rest, even if it was just for a few hours. Rolling over onto her back, she stared up at the dark ceiling. She saw random shapes dance before her eyes.

Korra had once wondered if there was a place, any place out there, where she would finally feel safe. She wondered when she wouldn't have to fight anymore. She wondered if she would ever stop running, stop killing, stop surviving...

And start living.

Korra doubted that though. Everyone was either dead and walking around as one of them of alive and killing each other.

There's my happy thought of the day. Korra chided herself.

She turned over onto her side and shut her eyes.

It only felt like it had been a few seconds before Korra had been woken up by the sounds of gunshots.

 **Did you guys like it? Should I keep going? If anyone has some suggestions or would like to leave some constructive criticism, please feel free in doing so. Please leave what you think.**


	3. Power through Pain

**Here is the next chapter! Been writing this since Monday and I've edited it multiple times but knowing me, there's probably still some spelling error. Sorry about that in advance. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy. Here's chapter two!**

Quicker than lightning, Korra shot to her feet.

 _BOOM!_

 _BOOM!_

More gunshots were fired. Shit, what was this person or people trying to do? Draw a herd on themselves? That was the last thing anyone needed. Korra didn't want to be here when that happened. Grabbing her machete, she quickly strapped it to her back. She grabbed her backpack off of the floor and put that on as well. Just as soon as she secured the straps on her shoulders, the front door busted open and two people ran through it. The second guy to run in slammed the door shut behind him. Both of then placed their hands on there knees as they leaned forward and tried to catch their breaths as their guns stayed in their grips.

"Fuck, what the hell do we do now?" The first guy asked, still panting. He was wearing a green shirt and his black hair was in kind of an old fashioned duck tail style.

"Shit, uh..." The second guy trailed off. He was sporting a red shirt and had spiky black hair. "I don't know."

"Bro, we have an entire herd coming this way!"

"I know! Just let me think for a minute!"

"We might not have a minute." Korra interrupted.

Both guys whipped around and stared at her, as if they just noticed her for the first time. They most likely did. The guy in the red shirt got over his shock quickly. He straightened up, stood in front go the other guy, and aimed his gun at Korra's head. At the same time, Korra pulled out her own gun and aimed it at the other guy's own head.

"Who the hell are you?" He asked or more like demanded.

"Who the hell are _you?"_ Korra asked with just as much bite.

"Mako!" The guy in the green shirt yelled. "We don't have time for this! We need to get out of here!"

No sooner than he had said that, the sound of loud and heavy pounding startled all three of them. Muffled groaning came from the other side as more and more Creepers began to pile up against the door. Korra vaguely remembered the broken windows. As far as she knew, those things didn't know how to climb but that didn't exactly calm Korra.

"Shit!" The guy, Mako stated. "We gotta get out of here!" He looked at Korra with a raised eyebrow. "Is there another way out of here?"

"I don't know." Korra replied, uncertain.

Mako's eyebrow rose higher. "What do you mean you don't know."

"I mean there isn't another way out downstairs!" Korra didn't know who this guy was but her patience's with this guy was getting thinner and thinner really quickly.

"Is there one upstairs?"

"I don't know. Maybe. There's probably access to the roof or something."

The pounding on the door was getting louder and harder as the force increased. More Creepers were determined to get the windows, Korra could see that they were pounding on the sides of the house and as old as this house was, with the rotting wood, they probably had minutes at the most the get out.

"We don't have time!" The guy with the green shirt exclaimed.

"I know, Bolin!" Mako nearly shouted. "Come on! Everyone upstairs!"

The three of them ran up the stairs just as the first of probably fifty Creepers busted through the door. The place was quickly filled with the sounds of groaning, grunting, and uneven footsteps. Once they reached the top step, they ran down the short hallway and into one of the rooms. It was a master bedroom that had a messed up bed and a heavy looking dresser.

"Great." The guy, Bolin, groaned. "Now what do we do?"

Korra looked at the dresser and at the door. From the outside, she heard the Creepers shuffling towards it, getting closer and closer. Korra ran to the dresser and began to push it.

"What are you doing?" Mako asked.

"Trying to buy use some time." Korra grunted. Man, this dresser was heavy. "Help me!"

Mako ran to the dresser and helped Korra push it against the door. Once it reached its destination, they moved away from it just as the herd began to pound against the door.

"Okay..." Mako trailed off and looked at Korra expectantly. "Now what?"

Korra looked around. This room was empty. Nothing but a window. Wait, a window! Korra ran towards it and opened it. Apparently it was the only one that wasn't broken. She leaned out of the window. The sun was just showing above the horizon and the air was pretty chilly but Korra didn't are about that. She looked down at the grass below them. It was clear. She turned and looked at the two guys behind her.

"Here's our way out." She stated, gesturing towards the window.

Mako pushed past her and looked out the window. His eyes widened at the distance between the window and the ground. He came back inside the house and looked at Korra. His face was so funny looking, Korra almost wanted to laugh. Almost.

"Are you out of your mind?!" He asked, waving his arms. "We can't jump from there! It's way too high!"

"Do you have any other ideas!?" Korra asked.

"We stand our ground and fight!"

"No! I don't know about you but I'm running out of bullets and I don't want to waste them on a herd that's just going to rip us apart anyway!"

"She's right, Mako!" Bolin interjected. "We're already running low as it is! We shouldn't waste it! We just jump out the window and get back to camp!"

"We just jump out the window and we'll break our fucking necks!" Mako restated.

"Would you rather it get ripped out of you?" Korra asked as sarcastically as she could.

The pounding increased and the dresser began to move out of place.

"Fuck!" Mako screamed. He ran towards the dresser and began to push it back against the door. It shut but he wasn't going to be able to hold it very long.

"The window is the only way!" Korra stated. "The worst we'll get is a sprained ankle! We can make this jump!"

Mako didn't reply and just kept holding the dresser to the door. Korra groaned and looked at Bolin.

"Come on." She said. She took off her backpack and threw it out the window.

"We can't leave him!" Bolin insisted.

"We're not! I'll throw him if I to! But we need someone down there to catch us in case one of us slips and you're clearly the strongest one here! You need to get out first!"

Bolin considered this for a moment. A moment that they didn't have. Mako's strength was already starting to give out as Creepers began pushing even harder and harder. Finally, Bolin nodded.

"Okay." He said. He then took off his own pack and threw it out the window. Slowly, he climbed out of the window, feet first, until he was hanging by his hands. He then let go of the ledge and dropped down. He landed on his feet but lost his balance and fell backwards.

"You okay?" Korra called.

Bolin stood up slowly. He grabbed his pack and put it on. He then looked up and nodded and held is hands up, waiting for Korra to come down.

Korra turned and looked at Mako. He was on his knees with his hands still on the dresser, still trying to keep the Creepers from coming in. He was failing. The door cracked opened and a bunch of limbs started to come through the crack. They couldn't stay here much longer.

"Dude!" Korra called. "We have to go!"

"We can still fight!" Mako grunted.

"Christ, how stupid are you!? If you don't go, you'll die! Think about the other guy. Bolin? Is he you're brother? What would happen to him if something happened to you?"

Mako strained against the dresser. This guy was so fucking stubborn. Finally, he let the dresser go, forcing Korra to use her own strength to keep the Creepers from breaking in. They looked at each other. Mako looked at the window and back to Korra.

"You're insane." He stated.

"I know." Korra replied. "Go!"

Mako ran to the window. Taking off his pack, he threw it out the window. Then, he climbed out feet first until he was hanging by his fingers. On the count of three, he let go and dropped.

 _Finally_ , Korra thought. She then remembered that she had yet to leave. She turned until her back was against the dresser. Taking a deep breath, she sprinted towards the window and began to climb out just as the Creepers managed to get into the bedroom. Just as Korra was about to hang herself by her hands, a particularly fast Creeper managed to grab her by the shirt and tugged her towards it's disgusting mouth. Korra jerked backwards and in the process, her momentum threw her off as she lost her grip and fell towards the ground. Bolin wasn't prepared to catch her, so Korra ended up falling hard onto her back. Her back flared with pain but she tried her hardest not to worry about that. She struggled against the Creeper that was trying so hard to bite her. Suddenly, Mako came out of nowhere and kicked the Creeper off of Korra. Once it was on the ground, Mako raised his boot and brought it down hard on its head. Blood and brains flew everywhere. Some managed to get on Korra's face. She groaned at the grossness and horrid taste as some managed to get in her mouth. Turning her head and spitting out as much of the taste as possible, Korra slowly stood up. Slowly, as her back ached and screamed in disapproval.

Once she stood up, Bolin was at her side. "I'm sorry!" He stated, trying to explain why he didn't catch her. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention and I was making sure Mako was okay and-"

"It's fine." Korra grunted, rubbing her back. She grabbed her pack and put it on her back. "We got out. That's all that matters."

There was groaning. Korra looked up at the window that she had fallen out of. That drop was farther than she thought it was. The Creepers were trying to reach them. Some managed to get out, only to succeed in fall to the ground and splattering all over the ground, head first. Korra turned and looked at Mako and Bolin.

"We're not safe yet." She stated. "We need to move."

The boys nodded. Bolin spoke up . "We have a camp not that far from here. We have food and supplies there. We might have something for your back. You want to come back with us?"

Korra looked at Bolin and then Mako. He crossed his arms and looked away. Something about this guy really pushed Korra's buttons but he seemed like an okay guy. They both did. Korra looked back at Bolin and shrugged.

"Sure." She said.

Bolin grinned. "Great! Come on. It's not that far, only a thirty minute walk."

"Let's go." Mako grunted (that seemed to be about the only thing he did). He pushed past Korra again and this time, she had to resist the urge to punch him in the mouth. Once he was out of earshot, she turned and looked at Bolin.

"What's his deal?" She asked

"Don't mind him." He said. "He's just been through a lot."

"We've all be through a lot. Doesn't give him permission to act like a dick." Korra muttered.

"He's always like this when we meet new people. Trust me. He'll come around once he gets to know you."

"Yeah. Sure."

"Come on. Let's catch up before we lose him."

Bolin jogged to catch up with Mako while Korra just walked. It hurt to take a step but she just gritted her teeth and powered through it. She just hoped this walk wasn't as long as Bolin said it was.

Korra was wrong. It was longer than what Bolin said. Okay, no it wasn't but it felt that way to her feet. Korra trailed behind both boys, her head down, scanning every leaf on the ground that laid in her wake. She decided not to try to make conversation with them. She didn't know them and they didn't know her. For all she knew, they were crazy murderers and for all they knew, she was a insane cannibal. She wasn't. Korra scrunched up her nose at the idea. Eating people? That was horrible and not to mention sick. Korra made a silent promise to herself that no matter how hungry she got, she would never, ever resort to eating someone.

Due to her head being down, Korra didn't notice Bolin slowing down until he was walking the same pace as Korra, step by step.

"So..." Bolin started. Korra looked at him. "I don't think we properly introduced ourselves. My name's Bolin, but you can call me Bo for short. That guy up there, all stodgy and grumpy, is my brother, Mako."

"Yeah." Korra muttered. "I already caught on to both of your names."

"Okay...that's cool..."

Silence ensued for a long moment. Bolin opened his mouth then closed it. He looked as if he had something to say.

"Are you gonna tell me yours?" Bolin inquired finally.

"Tell you what?" Korra asked.

"Your name, duh."

Korra inspected him. She hadn't had a chance to examine it up close. His hair, despite the duck tail, was sticking out in a lot of places. His eyes were a deep forest green color and above those were thick eyebrows. His nose was small but prominent on his face. His clothes were ripped and tattered, littered with grass and blood stains. Korra wondered if it were his own or someone else's. This guy looked innocent enough but his eyes told a different story. A dark, tragic. They looked sad, despite his upbeat demeanor. Full of sorrow, misery, melancholy. It made Korra wonder what this guy had been through and what he had to do to get to this point.

Korra decided to answer his question. "Why?" She asked, a little harsher than intended.

Bolin looked taken aback by the bite in Korra's voice. "I just thought that, well, since you saved us, that I could at least know your name."

Korra almost felt bad about how she answered. She sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just...it's been a long time since I've met anyone or anything who wasn't trying to bite me or shoot me. I'm a little weary of who I meet."

"I understand. Things are different, and it changes people. I don't blame you for how you acted. I probably would have done the same."

It was silent again for a little while. They managed to walk another twenty feet before Bolin spoke up, breaking the stillness.

"You know, when I saw you, raising your gun at Mako, I thought you were gonna shoot him." He declared.

"Yeah,I almost did." Korra spoke.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't. He may not seem like it, but he's actually a really good guy."

Korra snorted. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"He is!" Bolin stated, full of certainty. Korra nearly laughed at his enthusiasm. Nearly.

"Korra." She finally said.

"What?" Bolin asked.

"My name. It's Korra."

"Korra. Huh...nice name. It suits you."

"Thanks."

"No problem. How's the back?"

Korra placed her right hand on the small of her back. The pain, though still present, had withdrawn to a pulsing throb. Not unbearable, and if Korra didn't think about it, it was almost as if she hadn't fallen out of a window and right onto her back.

"Better than it was fifteen minutes ago." Korra replied.

Bolin winced. "I'm still really sorry about not catching you."

"I already told you it was okay. You checked on your brother, making sure he was okay. I would have done the same if I had a brother. Besides, I'm thankful that I'm even walking. It could have been much worse."

"Yeah...it could have been. I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm surprised that you guys didn't ditch me back there."

Bolin raised an eyebrow. "Why would we do that?"

"I don't know. Most people are like 'every man for himself.' I thought that you would have left." Korra replied.

"No. I could never leave anyone behind. Cramps my style. Besides, you saved my ass, and not to mention Mako's. You could have killed us when you had the chance but you didn't. Instead you helped us. We couldn't leave you."

Korra blushed a little. For some reason, that comment warmed her heart. Her cold, aching heart. It had been a while since Korra had heard anything like that. She hadn't expected it to come from anyone, much less a complete stranger.

"Also." Bolin continued. "I believe in strength in numbers. Mako doesn't. That's why we tend to stick to ourselves and since he's older and I look up to him, I usually listen to him."

"Strength in numbers?" Korra asked.

"Yeah. You know, us humans sticking together to survive and all that."

"Oh. Well, I've been on my own for a while now."

"You have? How long?"

"I don't know. Maybe a few months? I kind of lost track. I can't even remember what day it is."

"Well, how did you end up on your own?"

Korra looked down at the ground. She watched as her boots fell heavily towards the ground, crunching every leaf in her path and leaving broken pieces all over the ground, resembling how she felt. Broken, shattered. She refused to look back up at Bolin.

"I'm sorry." Bolin apologized. " I shouldn't have asked. It's none of my business."

Korra held back a sniffle that threatened to make an appearance. She didn't want to show any weakness around these guys, but something told her that if she were, they would comfort her, at least, Bolin would.

"It's fine." Korra muttered, looking straight ahead. She readjusted the straps of her backpack.

The rest of the walk was filled with an awkward silence. Bolin picked up the pace until he walked ahead of Korra but behind Mako. It looked like they were walking in a single file line. It brought back memories from Korra's elementary school days. How she would paint stick figures in art class, or laugh at her classmates falling out of their chair from leaning back too far, or eating cupcakes whenever it was somebody's birthday. It seemed so long ago, so far, so out of reach. Korra couldn't help but wonder where her old classmates were now.

 _Probably dead._

Korra shook her head. Great, more thoughts to keep her awake at night.

After about ten more minuets of walking, the trio had made it to another abandoned house. Because of the day that Korra had, a day that was just barely starting, she didn't want to see another house for a while, but she just dealt with it and fought the instinct to run. She followed the boys through the forever growing grass and to the steps of the single story house. It was painted an ugly green color and parts of the roof was missing but Korra could see why they chose this place to hide out. It was small and out of the way. Korra had to give them kudos on picking a decent house. It was the perfect hide out. She watched as Mako and Bolin climbed the steps and walked in. Korra followed suit, closing the door behind them. She turned and watched the boys walk right into the living, dropping their packs and flopping right onto a worn out couch. Bolin groaned and Mako just tilted his head back.

"Are you just gonna stand there?" Bolin asked.

Korra blinked, realizing just how long she had been standing and watching. Slowly and cautiously, making sure to keep one hand near her gun and the other near her knife, she walked into the living room. The light coming through the windows left dark shadows all over the floor, although it made things easier to see. Korra walked to the couch that was adjacent to the one the brothers were sitting and sat down.

Mako leaned forward and grabbed his pack and dragged it towards him until it was between his boots. Leaning down, he unzipped it and began to rummage through it. From the outside, it looked flat, so Korra tell that there wasn't a lot of stuff in there. The same went for Bolin's backpack. When Mako rose up, he tossed a bottle at Korra, who barely caught it. She turned the bottle in her hands and read the label. Aspirin. She looked at Mako with a raised eyebrow.

"For your back." He clarified without looking at Korra.

Korra nodded and opened the bottle. She took out two small, white pills and twisted the top back on. She tossed it back to Mako and then looked down at the pills. She hated pills. The way they looked, the way they tasted, the way they smelled, the way the felt. Everything. They reminded her of rocks.

Just do it quick. Korra thought.

She popped the pills in her mouth. She then tilted her head back and swallowed the pills as fast as she could. She shivered at the horrible taste before looking straight ahead.

"It'll be good to eat something with that." Mako muttered, leaning back on the couch and crossing his arms.

"Oh, food!" Bolin exclaimed. Korra hoped he wasn't loud like this all the time. She watched as he began to grab his backpack, look through it and pull out a can of mandarin oranges.

Korra grabbed her own pack and looked through it. She took out a can of ravioli and a knife that she reserved for opening cans. She placed the items between her legs before zipping her pack closed and tossing it to the floor. She then grabbed the can in her left and the knife in her right and began to cut the metal top open. It was a bit of a struggle, but she managed to get the top open. She took it off and placed it on the floor so the sauce was sticking straight up. Then, using her knife, she stabbed at the ravioli and brought the knife to her mouth, careful not to cut her mouth or tongue on accident. The ravioli was cold and it wasn't really that good, but it would keep Korra from starving.

She looked over at Mako, who had just closed his eyes. Bolin looked over at him too.

"You not gonna eat, bro?" He asked, his mouth full of mandarin.

Mako's eyes flew open. Even from her spot on the couch, she could see the bags under his eyes, "No. I'm not hungry. You eat though. You need it."

"So do you. You haven't eaten in at least two days. You gotta be starving."

"I'll eat later, okay?"

Bolin pouted. "Okay." He went back to his oranges.

Korra placed another ravioli in her mouth and chewed slowly, watching as Mako closed his eyes again. She looked over at Bolin, who just shrugged and began to drink the juice that was in his can.

After a long while, as the sun kept getting higher and higher in the sky -Korra guessed it was about eight in the morning-, Korra had long finished her breakfast and watched as the room became lighter and lighter with each passing minute. She thought about the event that had happened today. Funny how it had only happened about an hour ago. It seemed so much longer. Creepers, guns, falling from windows. Korra closed her eyes, leaned back, and replayed what had happened in her head. She was seriously surprised that she hadn't broken her back because of that fall. It wasn't short but not long, either. In fact, when she fell, it felt as if she were going in slow motion. As if she were slowly waiting for the impact of hitting the ground to rattle her body. She had been in incredible pain but she managed to get out of the situation mostly unscathed. Possibly because of the adrenaline coursing through her body. Maybe someone was out there, looking out for her. Maybe it wasn't her time yet. Maybe they decided that she needed to live longer. Deserved to live longer.

Korra couldn't decide whether or not that was a good thing or not.

She decided not to go too much into that. If someone really was looking out for her, then she would know if she made it to the end. To the end of the Hell she was going through.

Korra opened her eyes and looked around the room. It was empty, except for the bookshelf that was across the room from her. Ironically, there was no books on it. Korra wondered if that meant something. Probably nothing. The walls were peeling of the white paint that had once coated them. The ceiling was bumpy and hanging a bit lower than Korra liked. The floor was very dirty and had blood stains all over it. Korra wondered how long it had been there.

She had been thinking a lot lately.

She blinked and began to stretch. The pills were starting to kick in and her back wasn't throbbing anymore. At least, not as much as it had been earlier. She stretched her arms, legs, and torso, popping each of her joints. She then tilted her head to the left and right, popping it on both sides, Then, lacing her fingers together, she pushed them outwards and began to pop her fingers and she curled her toes in her boots, popping those as well. She stopped when she heard Bolin groan. She glanced over in his direction with a raised eyebrow.

"Can you not do that?" He whined. "That's gross."

Korra let out a breath through her nose. "What?" She asked. She the popped her thumbs. "That?"

"Yes, that! It sounds nasty!"

"Well, it's just your luck. I'm done."

"Good."

Korra took a deep breath, held it for a few seconds, then let it go. She blinked again. Despite the thrill of what happened and how long she slept last night, her eyes stung with fatigue. She yawned.

"You can go to sleep." Bolin stated. "It's been a long day."

"It's not even noon." Korra rejected.

"Just sleep. You'll need it. Trust me. You'll be glad that you did. Besides, I like taking first watch."

Korra examined him. His expression seemed genuine but she still wasn't sure. Before she could argue and reject further, she yawned again.

"Fine." She talked through her yawn. "But only for a couple of hours. Wake me if something happens."

"Sure thing." Bolin stated. He then raised his hand to his forehead in a mock salute.

Korra just rolled her eyes and leaned over sideways, placing her feet up on the end of the couch. She shut her eyes and it didn't take long for her to fall into a deep slumber.

 _Crying. Screaming. Shouts of anguish and broken voices that were lost in the wind and crackling of the fire. That's all Korra heard as the Creepers invaded the camp. Early days of the Outbreak and people thought it would only last a few weeks. Boy, they were wrong. It was stupid, really. Why were they hiding out so close to the city? Korra had wanted to move camp the second she realized how the city was. About a twenty minute walk from where each and every one of these people stood. But she couldn't. It wasn't her call. But she knew something like this would happen. She didn't know how she knew, but she did. It was set in stone, never to be erased._

 _Creepers had come in the middle of the night, surprising everyone. The group had hit the jackpot with the food. Tony and Andrea managed to find a full grown buck and now here they were, sitting around the campfire, chowing down on the tender deer meat. It had been days since any of them had had a cooked meal, somewhat, so they tried to savor each and every bite. Everyone was chatting and laughing, talking about what they would be doing if the shit hadn't hit the fan. Korra just sat in between her mother and her father, smiling at whatever joke Tahno had to crack or just enjoying the warmth of the crackling fire. If she didn't know better, it would have felt like just a normal camping trip. Sitting along the fire and having a good time with friends. But Korra knew better and she just couldn't help but feel a little shiver travel down her spine. This felt wrong. They shouldn't be so loud and out in the open like this. Korra's breathing picked up slightly, as if she could sense something. As if something bad was about to happen._

 _"We got anymore salt?" Kai had asked. "My meat tastes kind of dull."_

 _"Yeah." Derrick had replied, getting up from his seat on the ground and stretching. "I got some packets back in my tent. I'll get them. Anyone else want any? I have a whole bunch of 'em."_

 _Six hands flew up, Korra's mother and father's included. Derrick let out a chuckle before walking away and disappearing into his tent. The talking and laughing started back up. It only lasted a while before they had heard Derrick's scream pierce the chilly air._

 _Her father stood up, his deer falling to the ground. "What the...?_

 _Everyone turned as they saw Derrick stumble back to the group, his hand to his neck as blood poured down his body. He wasn't the only one to show up. He had returned with a pack of Creepers, a pack bigger than what Korra had become used to seeing. At least twenty of them were stumbling towards them, groaning and gnashing their jaws._

 _The group panicked. Everyone had gotten up and began to run away, only to be stopped by another pack of Creepers coming from behind. Korra stood where she was, shocked at the size of the group. She wondered what had attracted them to this place. The loud talking and laughing? The bright light from the camp fire? A combination of the two? Most defiantly._

 _Korra watched as many of her group members go down from being grabbed and eaten alive. Piercing screams and gun shot from those who kept their weapons on them nearly made Korra go deaf. But still, Korra couldn't move. She continued to watch in fascinated horror at the scene that was unfolding in front of her._

 _Too late, she realized that she shouldn't just be standing there. She was blinked and saw that a Creeper had walked its way right towards her. In a haste, Korra tried to pull out her gun but she was too slow. The Creeper tackled her and sent her to the ground._

Korra bolted straight up. She looked around, unaware and unfamiliar with her surroundings. Thinking she was in danger, she pulled out her gun and aimed it at the first person she saw.

Bolin held his hands up in a panic. "Whoa!"

Korra blinked a few times before her memories came running back to her. Creepers, guns, windows. Right. She looked over at Mako, with his own gun raised and trained at a spot on her forehead. Sighing, Korra put her gun away.

"Sorry." She muttered, rubbing her eyes. "I didn't recognize where I was. Thought I was in danger."

Bolin slowly put his hands down. "It's cool. It happens."

Mako looked at Korra up and down before putting his own gun away.

Korra stretched her arms and looked around. She noticed that despite the dream, or nightmare, she had just had, she felt better rested than she had felt in a while. She also noticed that the room was so much brighter than it was before she fell asleep. She looked out of the window and saw that the sun was high in the sky. She guessed it was about twelve, maybe one in the afternoon? She looked at Bolin.

"I told you to wake me in a couple hours." She said.

"I thought you needed the sleep." Bolin stated. "I could tell that you were tired by the way you were yawning earlier. Besides, Mako insisted."

Korra looked at Mako with a raised eyebrow. He didn't look at her. Korra returned her gaze to Bolin. She tried to find it in her to be mad at him, but she just couldn't. She felt rested and ready to take on a group of Creepers. She wasn't going to do that though. That would get her killed.

Korra looked down at the floor and noticed that there was a map laid out. She pointed at it.

"What's this for?" She asked.

"We're planning out a route for a supply run. We're running low on stuff. " Bolin replied.

Mako pointed at a stop on the map. He then dragged his finger across it. "There's a small city here." He explained. "The last time we went on a run, we tried to go there but the place was overrun. That was about a month ago. It should be mostly, if not all the way, clear. But just in case, we'll go around to the other side." He moved his finger to the other side of the map and trailed around. "It'll be longer but it's better to be safe than run into a pack of those things. There's a lot of stores and pharmacies here. Stock up on some food and medicine. We take as much as we can fill in our packs and then we come back here."

Korra took a look at the map. She wasn't the best at reading them but she did her best. "That city's not close." She stated. "We're not going to walk there, are we?"

"No." Bolin replied. "We have a truck behind the house that'll take us there. I don't know if she has it in her to bring us all back, though and we don't have that much gas."

"So what do we do if the truck stops working or run out of gas?"

"We find another car."

"And if we can't find another car?"

"Then we walk back." Mako stated, taking the map and folding it up, putting it away in his backpack. "We won't make it back before nightfall without a car, so we'll just have to find a place to hold out for the night, and keep going in the morning."

Korra was a little skeptical about this plan. There were a lot of things that could go wrong. The city could still be overflowing with Creepers. There could be hostile people. The city might have already been scavenged and been left bone dry. Someone could get bitten. The noise of the truck could attract unwanted guests. This was a huge risk.

But it was one Korra was willing to take.

She looked at Mako and saw that he was looking at her directly in her eyes for the first time. Korra looked into them. Unlike his brother, they were a bright amber color. They seemed to be glinting. But just like Bolin, they were also, if not more, filled with horrible sadness, as if he had seen too much.

He probably has.

"Are you in?" He asked.

Korra nodded. "I'm in."

"Okay." Mako leaned back into the couch. "We should get going now. If everything goes as planned, we should be back before dark with our packs filled to the top."

Korra nearly rolled her eyes. This was the apocalypse, which meant nothing would go the way as planned.

Korra just grabbed her pack and put it on. She stood up with Mako and Bolin.

"Alright." Korra said. "If were gonna do this, we better get a move on."

The brothers nodded in agreement. They all walked out the door of the house and around to the back to be greeted by an old, rusty looking truck. The paint job was horrible as it was chipping and the whole thing looked as if it was going to collapse even at the lightest touch. Bolin looked at Korra and saw her look.

"It's not the most reliable, but it gets the job done." He promised.

Korra took a deep breath and sighed through her nose. She then walked to trunk of the truck and placed her backpack in it. She kept her knives and gun on her. Mako and Bolin followed her actions. Then, Korra walked to the side of the truck and opened the door. She cringed as the door gave off a loud, screeching sound as it opened. She climbed in and sat in the middle, with Bolin getting in on her right and Mako getting in the driver's seat. He reached over and took the keys out of the glove compartment. Putting it in the ignition, the truck roared to life, though it sounded like a dying whale. This truck was nowhere near quiet. Korra hoped they would move soon before Creepers started to show. Finally, Mako put the car into drive and the trio were on their way to the city.

 _This a bad idea._ Korra's mind screamed.

 _They're going to get you killed._

 _You're not going to make it back alive._

 _Shut up!_ Korra thought. She tried her hardest to remain positive. They were going to get the supplies and get back her before dark. A simple 'get in and get out'

Something told Korra that this was going to be anything but simple.

 **Good? Bad? Somewhere in the middle? Let me know what you guys think! Again, sorry about the error. Hopefully you guys liked it. Until next chapter!**


	4. Hope and Silence

**Guess who's back! I want to deeply apologize for how long this took me to create, edit, and put out. I can't believe it's been two months since I've updated. I don't even have a good excuse. Again, I'm so very sorry but I'm back and I have my inspiration to write again. Don't worry, I won't leave you guys hanging like that again. Anyway, here goes the next chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

It wasn't until about two hours into the drive when Korra realized how stupid this plan actually was.

Drive into a city (Korra didn't care if Mako had said that it was a small city, it was still a city.) that is possibly, most defiantly, swarming with Creepers just to look for supplies that might not even be there? What a major bone-headed move. Korra was currently slapping herself in the face for not only agreeing with this stupid plan, but also for getting herself into this position in the first place.

But that didn't matter now. They were already nearing the city with each passing second, so Korra decided not to worry about it too much. If she got herself into a tight spot, she could, no, she _would_ manage. She had been looking out for herself for the past three months now and who knows? Maybe there might actually end up being something worth finding in that city.

 _There better be_. Korra thought.

Korra looked to her right and studied Bolin for a few moments. He seemed to be in his own little world. Hopefully a happier one. He was slightly moving his head from side to side and he was humming the lyrics to some type of tune. Korra focused on the humming but couldn't recognize the song. Korra watched as a small smile crossed Bolin's features. Whatever he was singing must have been making him happy.

At least someone was feeling something other sadness.

Korra looked away from Bolin and focused her attention to Mako. He stared out into the open road in front of him as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. He had a hard but blank expression on his face, so to Korra, he kind of resembled a brick. His eyebrows were furrowed, as if he was thinking about something unpleasant. Korra turned her attention from him and focused on the rumbling of the tires against the ground.

Korra's mind started to wonder. She thought about how much longer she had to sit in the truck as they traveled to this god forsaken city. She legs felt numb and she had a buzzing in her left foot. Korra was itching to get out of the vehicle and shake the feeling of numbness out of her limbs. She started to tap her fingers against the fabric of her jeans as she began to ponder further. Random thoughts flew through her head. She thought of the incredibly fat Creeper she had killed a few weeks back. She thought of the last book she had read. She couldn't remember the title but, ironically, she knew it had something to do with zombies. And for some reason, she even thought about the archery club she had joined when she was in high school. She remember herself pulling back the string of her bow, relaxing her tense arms, and letting the arrow pierce the air as it hit the middle of her target with a sharp thud. Korra shook her head out of her thoughts. She didn't want to dwell on the past too long. Instead, she just leaned her head back in the seat and stared at the ceiling.

A few minutes later, Korra became aware of how hot the inside of the truck was. She felt the sweat roll down her temple, down her cheeks and neck as it soaked into the fabric of her jacket. She wondered why it took her so long to notice the heat. She began to ponder about why it was so hot. It might be from the weather. Spring had come and it was getting warmer and warmer by the day. It could possibly be due to the fact that she was wearing a jacket. Or maybe, most likely, it was because she was sitting in between two equally sweaty grown men.

"Can we turn on the air conditioner?" Korra asked Mako as she leaned forward and shrugged off her jacket.

"It's broken." Mako stated.

"Well, can you roll down the windows? I know you're hot. You can't tell me that you aren't."

"I'm not." Mako huffed as a bead of sweat rolled down his face.

"I can see the sweat running down your face. If anything, you're hotter than I am."

"I'm fine."

"C'mon, it's like an oven in this truck. Just open the windows. Why are you being so stubborn?"

Korra watched as Mako gritted his teeth and tighten his grip on the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. Finally, his grip loosened.

"Bolin, are you hot?" Mako asked.

Bolin looked over with wide eyes, almost as if he had just realized where he was. "Uh, well now that you mention it, it is stuffy in here."

Mako nodded as he took his left hand off the wheel and pressed a button on the door. In response, the windows rolled down and a huge breeze instantly cooled down the three passengers.

"Thank you." Korra said, wondering why he didn't just roll down the windows when she had asked.

Mako didn't reply. Instead, he put his hand back on the wheel and kept his eye fixated on the road in front of him.

Silence came into the picture. No one spoke a single word. Nothing but the sound of the truck and the breeze coming through the window. Korra didn't know whether or not she was grateful for the silence or if she hated it.

Korra's mind started to wonder again. She began to think about the city and what they would find. Korra hoped that they would find plenty of food and water along with ammunition. She was running pretty low on bullets and if she didn't find any soon, she would be stuck having to use her knives, which she didn't mind, but if she somehow managed to run into a herd of Creepers, a knife wasn't going to be as effective as a gun would be. Sadly, Korra had a feeling that they wouldn't find that. With her luck, they would end up finding the city filled to the rim with Creepers, or find it already stripped clean, or completely burned to the ground.

Still...Korra honestly couldn't help but hope that there might be people in that city. Or more specifically, one person. Her father...

 _No!_ Korra chided herself. No, she couldn't bring herself to be that hopeful. She couldn't bring herself to think about her father and the possibility of him being in that city. She couldn't bear the idea of making herself believe that he was there and that he was still alive and breathing. She couldn't bring herself to hope.

Because in this world, hoping wasn't worth a damn thing.

Bolin tapped her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

Korra blinked and forced her thoughts to the back of her head. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"You just looked kind of lost for a second and your breath sounded pretty shaky."

"Oh, sorry about that. I was just thinking about something."

"About what?"

Korra didn't answer him. Instead, she stared right in front of her.

"I'm sorry." Bolin apologized. "I shouldn't have asked. Whatever you're thinking about has nothing to do with me."

Korra didn't look at him but his words started to make her feel bad for some reason. She felt the need to explain her quietness.

"No." Korra sighed. "Don't apologize. It's just...what I was thinking about is kind of hard to discuss."

Bolin nodded in understanding. "I understand. After some of the stuff Mako and I have been through, I wouldn't want to talk either."

Korra nodded slightly, grateful at the fact that Bolin understood that she really didn't want to talk about her experiences right now. Or ever. Korra didn't want to relive the horrors that she had endured.

"So, how old are you?" Bolin asked suddenly.

That question caught Korra completely off guard. "Uh, what?"

"How old are you?" Bolin repeated.

"Uh, twenty-one. Why?"

"Aw man, I was hoping that you were going to be younger than me."

"Why? How old are you?"

Bolin shrunk in his seat and crossed his arms as her furrowed his eyebrows and stuck out his lower lip a little bit.. "Twenty." He muttered.

Korra nearly wanted to laugh at Bolin's childish acts. Despite it being the end of the world and all of the Hell that was going on around them, Bolin has somehow managed to keep his spirit. Korra wanted to know how he managed to do such a thing. She envied it.

The rest of the ride went on in a different type of silence. Not a silence filled with tension and awkwardness. Not a silence that only the blade of a sword could cut through. No, this silence was different. It was a comfortable silence, one that didn't make Korra feel weary.

Another hour had passed before the truck made a horrible, ear-splitting sound. For three excruciatingly long seconds, the truck made a sound that resembled nails on a chalkboard. Suddenly, the hood of the truck popped open and out came a huge cloud of steam.

"Fuck!" Mako shouted and quickly put his foot on the brake. The sudden movement caused both Korra and Bolin to fly forward but not too far due to their seatbelts. They flung back harshly into seats.

"Damn, bro!" Bolin exclaimed as he rubbed the back of his head. "A little warning next time?"

"Shut up." Mako muttered as the truck came to a full stop. He took the keys out of the ignition before putting them back in and turning them. The truck started to shudder. Mako stopped twisting the keys for a few moments before repeating his actions. The results were the same. Mako repeated his actions for the third time. This time, the car stayed silent.

"Fuck..." Mako mumbled. After a few moments of just sitting there, Mako took off his seatbelt, got out of the vehicle, and walked around to the front. Bolin followed along with Korra. They walked to the front of the truck to find Mako just staring at the engine.

"What happened?" Korra asked, stretching her arms and legs.

"I don't know." Mako muttered. He brought his hand up and scratched the back of his head. "It could be a number of things. I don't know a single thing about engines. Or cars for that matter."

"Too bad we're not mechanical engineers."

"This was to be expected, honestly. We haven't gotten this checked out since before any of this started. I just didn't think it would happen until we were on our way back."

Korra sighed. "So, what do we do now?"

"Eh, it's too far for us to walk and get there before nightfall..." Mako trailed off.

"Well, we can't spend the night out here." Korra stated, crossing her arms.

"I know! Just...just let me think."

Korra looked at Bolin, who just raised his hands in front of his chest. "Don't look at me. I don't usually come up with good ideas. Or ideas for that matter."

The shorter woman just sighed and returned her attention to Mako, who had his hand on his chin as he tried to think of something.

"Screw it." Mako said, dropping his hands to the sides. "We're walking the rest of the way."

"Uh, what?" Korra asked. "We're not walking all the way to the city."

Mako walked past Korra and to the trunk of the truck. "We have no choice. Like you said, we can't spend the night out here."

Korra followed Mako and watched as he took out his pack and put it on. "So you're going to make us walk all night? I meant that we should go looking for shelter. Somewhere to sleep. Do you want to sleep out in the open where you will get killed?"

Mako grabbed Bolin's pack and handed it to him, all while ignoring Korra's question. Before he could start walking, Korra stood in front of him. "So, what? You're really going to make us walk all night?"

"If that's what it takes, then yes." Mako stated. He tried to walk around Korra but the shorter woman placed a hand on his chest, halting his movements.

"We are not going to spend the night walking." She inquired.

Mako removed the hand off his chest. "Who's gonna stop me?"

Korra and Mako glared daggers at each other. Before more arguing could break out, Bolin stepped in between them.

"Hey." Bolin stated, trying to defuse the situation. "Look, how about this: we make our way to the city. We walk for a few hours and then we switch gears and we look for a place to spend the night. Then, tomorrow, we spend the rest of the time getting to the city."

Mako and Korra continued to glare at one another. It was almost like watching two bombs and waiting to see which one would go off first. If these two decided to take out their guns and knives, things could get ugly. Finally, Mako sighed and looked away.

"Fine." Mako muttered. "We can walk for maybe an hour or two. Then we can look for a place to stay."

"Okay." Bolin let go of the breath he was holding. "Thank you."

Mako walked forward and this time, Korra allowed him. "Let's go." He said

Bolin and Korra glanced at one another before Bolin shrugged his shoulders and began to follow his brother. Korra grabbed her pack out of the truck and put it on. She walked to the front of the truck and stared at the engine that was still letting out thick sheets of steam.

"Too bad we're not mechanical engineers." Korra mumbled. Sighing, she turned on her heels and began to walk to catch up with the brothers.

The walk had been silent. No surprise there.

Korra was still pretty pissed at Mako. Seriously, was he really going to make them walk all night if he had the chance? If so, that would be the dumbest idea that Korra has ever heard. Surely they would have collapsed from exhaustion and most definitely eaten in their sleep. Jeez, was Mako really trying to get them killed?

Korra had no idea what Mako's problem was. It seemed like whenever Korra had something to say, Mako had to say something that would disagree. She wondered why he was so stubborn. What had he encountered that made him the way he was now. It didn't matter and honestly, Korra didn't really care. At least, that's what she told herself.

The silence was nearly deafening.

At first, Bolin had tried to lighten the mood and break the almost unbearable silence. He tried accomplish this by trying start a conversation, ("Have you ever seen this one show where there is this boy who can control the elements?), coming up with really bad jokes and puns, (A book just fell on my head, I guess I only have myshelf to blame.), or just asking questions, (Korra, what is your favorite type of food?) Unfortunately, Bolin was met with silence every time he said something, so eventually, he gave up.

After about two hours had passed, Korra finally spoke up. "We've walked long enough." She said. "Can we start looking for shelter now?"

"Yeah." Mako said.

"Good." Bolin panted. "My feet are so sore."

"C'mon, Bo, you'll be fine. We should head into the trees. There might be an abandoned cabin in there or something."

Korra nodded. Being in the cover of trees was better than being out in the open. The trio walked off of the deserted road and into the thick tress that laid in their wake. They walked for a while. Korra had to shield her eyes from the harsh rays that hit her in the face. Due to the sun getting lower and lower in the sky, the temperature had began to drop until Korra had began to feel a bit chilly. She grabbed for her jacket before she realized that she didn't have it with her. She had left it in truck.

"God damn it." Korra whispered. She wanted to scream but she didn't know the secrets that these trees were hiding. For all she knew, she could be walking right next to a herd of Creepers and not even be aware of it.

Bolin must have heard her small whispered. He stopped and turned around. He waited until Korra had caught up to him before he continued to walk again.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I left my jacket in the truck." Korra replied miserably. After all, that had been her favorite jacket.

"Aww, that really blows."

"Yeah, and the sun's setting so the temperature will be dropping even lower."

"Are you cold?"

"A little."

"I think I have something for that." Bolin stopped which caused Korra to stop as well. She observed as Bolin removed his pack and dropped to his knees, his pack in front of him. He unzipped it and stuck his hand inside. When he pulled it out, he had taken out a worn out green sweater. Closing his pack, he put it back on his shoulders, and stood up with a small grin on his face. He presented the sweater to Korra.

"Here." He said.

Korra eyed the fabric in Bolin's hand. He then looked back at Bolin. "I-I don't think I should..."

"Nope." Bolin interrupted. "You said you we're cold. I don't know about you, but I don't think you should be getting sick anytime soon. Besides, this is too small for me anyway."

Korra furrowed her brows and stared at the fabric again. She looked back at Bolin when he heard him sigh.

"Look." He said quietly. "I know in this world now, it's hard to trust anyone. Any nice guy you come across may be just out to kill you. But I'm telling you Korra, you can trust me. And Mako. He may not seem like it, but he really is a good guy. We both are. You can trust us."

Korra studied Bolin's face. She was trying to locate any lie in his statement but she could not seem to find any. Bolin put his arm out further to Korra, which brought her attention back to the sweater. After a moment, Korra slowly reached out and grabbed the sweater. She took off her pack and quickly slipped on the article of clothing. It may have ben small on Bolin but it was big on Korra. It nearly swallowed her. The sleeves went past her hands, the bottom of the sweater stopped in the middle of her thighs and the left shoulder was sliding down a little. Nonetheless, it was really, really warm. It made Korra feel as if she were sitting in front of a warm campfire. She rolled up the sleeves to the elbows and tucked in the bottom of the sweater into her pants. She grabbed her pack and put it back on. She looked at Bolin, who had been watching her the whole time, and gave him a warm smile.

"Thank you." She said. "I mean it."

Bolin blushed and brought is hand up to the back of his neck. "It was nothing. Uh, we should catch up with Mako."

Korra nodded and together they walked through the thickness of the trees to find the older brother.

It didn't take long for them to find him. Once they had caught up with him, they continued on their quest for shelter. Korra hoped that it wouldn't take long to find some place decent to spend the night. Or, at least any place that didn't have the windows completely broken out. Her thoughts were broken when she heard the sound of someone's stomach growling. Turning around, she raised a questioning eyebrow at Bolin.

The younger man blushed again. "Sorry. I haven't eaten all day."

"Once we find a place we can break for food." Mako stated.

"How long will that take?"

"I don't know, Bro. Hopefully not that long."

"Well, hopefully it's soon because I really don't want my stomach to be the reason why we're surrounded by corpses."

Korra couldn't help but picture them being surrounded by Creepers due to Bolin's stomach growling like a hungry lion. The thought was funny, but in a sad sort of way.

"That won't happen." Mako replied, and if Korra wasn't mistaken, she thought that she had heard slight amusement in his voice.

"Uh, have you heard my stomach?" Bolin asked. "You know how hungry I can get and you know that my stomach is much louder than this."

"Trust me, I know."

"How could you not?" Bolin asked, reaching his hand up to scratch his right shoulder.

They didn't say anything else for a few feet. For a few very quick seconds, Korra felt the back of her neck tingle. She then felt a slight burning sensation on her left shoulder, as if she was anticipating getting shot there. Korra stopped and turned around, glaring at the trees in her vision. She furrowed her brows before shrugging and turning back around and kept walking. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed.

"It's quiet out here." Korra noted. "A little too quiet."

"Yeah..." Mako trailed off as he scanned the trees. "No dead, no nothing...get your guns out."

"Why do we need to-Ah!"

Bolin hunched over as huge arrow had made its way into his shoulder.

"Shit!" Mako cursed as more arrows shot in their direction. "Bolin!"

Korra pulled out her gun to aim, but there was nothing to shoot. Damn these thick trees. She got low to the ground and looked at Mako, who was helping Bolin stand.

"C'mon we gotta move!" Korra shouted.

Once Mako had Bolin standing on his two feet, the three of them ran through the trees. They ducked their heads as they ran while arrows continued to whistle past Korra's ears. Korra hoped the trees would help hide where they were but the arrow sticking inside Bolin's shoulder kind of gave their position away.

"Faster!" Korra demanded as she increased her speed. She took out her gun and aimlessly shot behind her and into the trees. More arrows flew at them, some of them planting themselves into the trees around them and some of them nicking Korra's arms as she ran. Korra quickly glanced behind her to make sure that Mako and Bolin were still trailing her. Mako made sure to stay near Bolin while the younger brother was clutching his bleeding shoulder.

Korra was nearly running out of breath before they came to stop behind a tall, brown, wooden fence.

"Fuck!" Korra stated. Why the hell was there a fence here? Bolin and Mako had caught up to her. "We need a way around!"

"No shit!" Bolin replied in agony.

Korra ran off to the left and fired more bullets. Arrows were still flying but at a slower rate than before. Whoever was shooting at them must have been running out of arrows. Korra aimed her gun out to her left and blindingly shot into the trees again. This time, there was a howl of pain, letting Korra know that her shot had been successful in stopping some of the arrows.

Korra continued to run but she could feel herself becoming winded very quickly. She took a quick glance behind her and saw Mako and Bolin a few paces behind her, Mako looking almost out of breath and Bolin looking as if he was going to pass out completely. Turning her attention back in front of her, Korra nearly screamed as she ran right into a Creeper. Falling to the ground, Korra fell right on top of the corpse. The stench itself almost made Korra want to cry but she couldn't focus on that right now. Quickly, Korra rolled herself off the Creeper before it could take a bite out of her neck. She stood up, raised her foot and brought it down harshly on top of the rotting skull, causing blood to spray all over the place, coating the grass, nearby trees, and Korra's boot in a dark shade of crimson.

At this point, Mako and Bolin had caught up to her. Bolin was looking deathly pale and his arrow wound was looking pretty bad. His shoulder was bleeding pretty badly. Blood ran down his right side, covering part of his shirt in a deep shade of red.

"Don't stop." Mako warned. "There could be more of them."

Nodding, the trio continued to sprint, looking for a way to get around to the other side of the fence. Korra was aware that the arrows had stopped but that didn't calm her down one bit. In fact, it caused her to run even faster. After a few moments, Korra realized that she was becoming too tired to continue running. She stopped and tried to take in as much air as she could in order to even out her breathing. Then, still breathing heavily, Korra turned her attention to the fence. It was at least a foot taller than she was. After thinking it through for about two seconds, Korra had an idea. She looked around. There was no sign of the people who had been shooting the arrows at them but in the distance, Korra could hear the moans and groans of Creepers heading their way. Probably draw to the noise of Korra's gun. She cursed herself. Despite the fact that the Creepers were a little ways off, they would be closing in pretty soon. Korra turned towards the brothers.

"We have to climb over." She stated.

"Over the fence?" Mako asked, nearly causing Korra to roll her eyes.

"Yes, over the fence."

Mako glanced at his brother, who was looking worse and worse with each passing second. "I don't know if Bolin can do it."

"He has to."

"I can do it." Bolin muttered weakly.

"Are you sure?" Mako asked, concern carved into his features.

Bolin straightened and tried for a smile, though it was clear that he was in agony. "I have no choice."

Mako looked at his brother with a raised eyebrow but Bolin refused to look at him. Finally, the older of the two sighed.

"Okay." He finally said. He turned towards Korra. "He goes first."

Korra nodded. "We have to hurry. We'll be surrounded any minute."

Korra and Mako situated themselves on either side of Bolin. Secretly, Korra was doubting that Bolin could force himself over. He did have an arrow sticking out of his shoulder after all and Korra just knew that had to hurt. Still, like Bolin had said, they had no choice. Lacing her fingers together, Korra made herself something to boost Bolin up. Mako did the same. Bolin then stepped into both of their hands and, which as much strength as Korra could muster, they lifted Bolin high enough to grab the top of the fence. He groaned as he raised his arms and pulled himself as Mako and Korra helped as much as he could. Finally, Bolin had managed to get his leg over the fence. He laid down slightly so half of his body was over the fence. He stopped moving.

"Bolin?" Mako asked.

Suddenly, Bolin fell over and landed on the other side of the fence with a loud thud.

"Bolin!" Mako shouted. Korra was about to tell him to shut up but it didn't matter. The first Creeper emerged from the trees. Korra pulled out her knife and ran up to the corpse to stab it in the head. It crumpled to the ground like a rag doll.

"Come on!" Mako urged. He then laced his own fingers together to create a stool for Korra. "Go over and check on him. Make sure he's okay!"

"What about you?" Korra asked.

"I can pull myself over. Now let's go!"

Not wanting to argue, Korra ran up to Mako and placed her foot in his hands. He boosted her up with ease and Korra grabbed the fence to pull herself over. It took some effort but she managed to get over the fence and hop down, making sure not to land on Bolin. Once she had her balance, she turned and crouched next to the unconscious man.

Thank God, he had landed on his stomach. Korra was afraid that he had landed on his back, causing the arrow to penetrate deeper into his body. Korra frantically tried to think of what to do. She grabbed the arrow and tried to pull it out but that was no use. The arrow was sturdy, she wasn't going to be able to force that out without breaking it.

"Fuck." Korra muttered as more blood seeped out of Bolin's wound. Suddenly, the sounds of gunshots captured her attention.

"Mako?!" She called. Nothing, just the sound of grunting and more gunshots fired from the other side of the fence.

"Mako!" Korra called again.

"I need a minute!" Mako called back. The sounds of groaning and corpses hitting the ground gave Korra a pretty good picture of what was going on with Mako on the other side of the fence.

"Shit!" Korra exclaimed. "Hang on! I'm coming back over!"

"No!" Mako argued. "I can-AH! SHIT! I can..."

More gunshots.

"I gotta go!" Mako stated.

"What!?" Korra asked. "No!"

"I have to! I'll find a way around!"

"No! I can help you!" Korra replied, though looking at this fence, that was a lot taller than she was, she began to doubt herself.

"Like hell you can!" Mako replied. "Holy shit...just go! Take care of Bolin!"

"Mako!"

Korra listened to the sounds of footsteps running off and distant gunshots rang out. She heard the shuffling of uneven footsteps pass the fence. Korra made sure that she stayed as quiet as possible as the footsteps passed. It was bad enough those things were going after Mako. She didn't need them coming after her and a unconscious Bolin.

After a few minutes, there was silence. Korra let out a sigh and turned her attention back to Bolin. He needed help badly. Not knowing what to do, Korra grabbed Bolin's hands and began to drag him.

"Damn..." Korra grunted as she tried her hardest to move Bolin. "He's heavier than I thought."

Korra let go of his hands to catch her breath. What had Bolin been eating to make himself this heavy? Korra cracked her knuckles and grabbed Bolin's hands again but before she could drag him anywhere this time, a hard object hit her sharply on the back of her head, making her fall to the ground.

Groaning, Korra slowly turned onto her back. Her vision had gone blurry. She managed to lock onto the person above her. She couldn't make out anything about them. All she knew was that whoever they were, they were going to kill her.

"I'm sorry." The voice said before a strong kick to Korra's head caused her to black out.

* * *

 **A/N: Did you guys enjoy? I hope so. Please comment your thoughts as your wonderful reviews are what keeps me writing. Hopefully you guys liked in and I'll see you guys in the next chapter.**

 **P.S: I call the zombies Creepers because I didn't want to use the term "zombie" as to me it is boring and all of the good names for them *cough*walkers*cough* were taken. Just in case you were wondering.**


	5. A Helping Hand

Korra had a dream that she was drowning.

She swung her arms all around her wildly as she tried to remember which way was up. She felt the rushing of the water keep her head underneath the surface. Her lungs burned due to the strain of holding in her breath for so long. Her vision was becoming darker and darker by the second as she felt herself about to pass out to the lack of air she was receiving. With one last push, Korra forced herself upwards and her head broke the surface. She took a huge breath, trying to get as much air into her lungs as possible before a strong wave crashed on top of her head and forced her back under the water. Once again, Korra began to struggle, the wave disorienting her and leaving her in a slight daze. She tried to push herself up but her actions proved to be futile as each time she went up, the strong current pushed her down even further. Korra struggled and struggled as she tried desperately to keep herself from breathing, but she couldn't hold it in for much longer. She took a breath, water invading her nostrils and making its way into her body. She felt her lungs quickly fill with water as her eyes slowly closed and she allowed the current to take her body where it wished...

Korra woke up with a start. She sat up quickly, leaned forward, and began to cough violently, causing water that had somehow made its way into her system to be coughed up and spat all over the place.

"Whoa, be careful."

Korra immediately tried to grab for her gun but she had come back empty-handed. Her gun was gone. She reached for her knives only to realize that her assortment of knives were, too, missing. Realizing that she had no weapons, she slowly turned her attention to the person who had spoken.

She was a woman. She didn't look that much older than Korra. Her pale complexion greatly contrasted her midnight black hair, which was pulled up into a messy bun on her head with a few strands falling onto her forehead. Her eyes, which were a bright emerald-green hue, made Korra's nerves spark. Her eyes were startling. They moved quickly back and forth, like she had drunk way too many cups of coffee. Underneath them were deeply etched marks, signaling that this woman hasn't had a decent night's sleep in quite some time. Her lips were a pale pink color. They looked soft, which clashed with her disheveled appearance. Her face was covered in a thin layer of dirt and grime, as if she had been out digging in the dirt all day. The look the woman was giving her was of concern but her furrowed eyebrows made it seem like she was ready to fight at any given moment.

"What?" Korra croaked, suddenly realizing how dry her throat felt.

"Sorry." The woman apologized. "I tried to get some water into you before you woke up. Looks like it went down the wrong tube."

Korra didn't reply but instead, she leaned forward and started to cough uncontrollably again. The woman reached out and began to pat Korra on the back, which made Korra tense and caused the woman to retract her arm.

Korra looked around and realized that she was in a room. She took note of her surroundings. Right in front of her was a flat screen t.v. that looked like it didn't work anymore. It didn't due to there being no power. The t.v. was sitting on top of a heavy-looking dresser. Next to the dresser was a door. Maybe a bathroom or a closet. Looking to her right, Korra saw a window with a huge curtain covering it. Right next to the bed that Korra was sitting on was a table with a candle that was lit and an alarm clock that wasn't on. To her left was another table with a similar looking candle that was also lit. Looking past the woman was another door. It probably led out into the rest of the house. Next to the door was a desk. It was littered with papers, pens, and pencils. The wall above it had a picture of a man, a woman, and a little girl sitting in between the two of them, along with a shaggy looking dog that had its tongue out. The picture was in black and white for some reason, like it was taken with an old timely camera. All of the people in the picture had huge smiles of their faces, which made them look happy, which was the exact opposite of what Korra felt. She forced herself to look away.

A sudden wave a nausea made her stomach churn and Korra felt as if she were about to throw up all over the bed. When it passed, it was replaced with a throbbing headache. It felt like someone was using a hammer and Korra's head was the nail being pounded on. Korra remembered that before she had somehow ended up here, she had been striked on her head twice. Leaning forward, Korra put her hands on her temples and began to rub them in tiny circles.

"Here." Korra looked over at the woman and saw that she had her hands stretched out, offering Korra two objects. In her left hand she held a water bottle that was pretty full. Definitely the water that Korra had choked on a few minutes prior. In her right hand was a small white pill. Korra raised an eyebrow and gave the woman a questioning look.

"What is that?" She asked, gesturing towards the pill.

"It's an aspirin. I figured you might need it since I hit you in the head and then kicked you. You can't tell me you don't have a raging headache right now."

Korra was about to reply that she did, but then something dawned on her. "You were the one who knocked me out?!" She shouted, which was a bad idea. It only caused the pounding in her head to increase and her scratchy voice made her sound like a croaking frog.

"Yes." The woman confirmed. "I'm sorry, but I didn't know who you were and if I had just come up to you, I wasn't positive that you weren't going to shoot me."

"If I had my gun I probably shoot you now."

The room filled with silence as thick as a fog.

"That's understandable." The woman stated, breaking the silence. "But you wouldn't do it."

Korra glared at the woman. "And how the hell would you know that?" She asked, trying to ignore the throbbing in her skull.

The woman just shook her head. "I don't. But something tells me that you wouldn't. You seem like you're too nice of a person to just shoot me in cold blood."

"How do you know that I'm not an insane killer?"

"Because if you were an insane killer, I'd be dead right now."

Korra remained silent. She looked away from the woman and down to the items that were still stretched out in her hands. She took the water but refused the pill. Korra didn't trust this woman. For all she knew, this woman was probably lying about the type of pill and could be trying to drug her, or poison her, or something. The same went for the water, but Korra was parched, so she wasn't about to deny it. She could deal with a temporary headache. Holding up the bottle of water, Korra held it to the light that was coming from the candle and examined it. It looked clean enough. Unscrewing the top, Korra held the opening of the bottle to her nose and sniffed. It smelled fine. Putting the bottle to her mouth, she tipped it up and took a small swing. She swished the liquid around in her mouth, trying to decipher any unusual tastes. When she didn't find any, she swallowed the water and screwed the cap back on. She then kept her mouth shut for a few moments before speaking.

"I'm not a nice person." She muttered, looking straight in front of her. Her throat no longer felt like sandpaper.

"What?" The woman asked.

"You said I was a nice person. You're wrong. I'm not."

"Yes you are. I know that you are a nice person."

"You don't know a single thing about me."

Another wave of silence washed the room.

"You're right." The woman stated quietly. "I don't know anything about you."

"Good. Let's keep it that way." Korra said, firmly. "Where are my weapons?"

"My father has them locked up. We'll give them back once he's sure that you won't kill us."

"No promises." Korra muttered as her thoughts started to invade her mind. Her eyes widened as she remember Bolin. "Where's Bolin?!"

"He's in the room across the hall."

"Is he okay?"

"Yes, he's fine. He's resting. I managed to remove the arrow without breaking it..."

Korra didn't bother to listen to the rest of what the woman had to say. She shot to her feet, which proved to be unwise as her knees buckled, nearly causing her to fall. Her headache heightened, which made the room spin around her. It quickly subsided and Korra regained her balance while making her way to the door. The woman, however, got up and blocked her from the exit.

"You shouldn't be up." The woman stated. "You need to rest."

"I'm fine." Korra grumbled, though that was a lie. Her head felt like it was going to split into two. "I just need to see him."

"I already told you, he's fine."

"Good, more reason for me to see him."

The woman placed a hand on Korra's shoulder. "Just let him rest. You can see him tomorrow."

Korra roughly shrugged off the hand on her shoulder "Get out of my way." She grumbled.

Korra and the woman had a silent staring contest. Looking into the woman's eyes, Korra tried to look as intimidating as possible, though it was hard as the woman was a few inches taller than Korra was. Unblinking, Korra began to glare as the woman remained planted in front of the door. After a full minute had passed, the woman sighed. She then moved away from the door. Grabbing the cold doorknob, Korra turned it and slowly opened the door. She peered out into the dark hallway that was lit by a few candles that was sitting on a small table that was against the wall, and fixed her eyes on the brown door in front of her. Walking across the hall, Korra opened the door and walked in, the woman following behind her. She noticed Bolin sitting on the side of the bed, with his hands under his chin, just staring at the wall in front of him. He looked like he was in deep thought.

"Bolin." Korra said, walking up to him.

Bolin looked at Korra before a huge smile took over his face. "Korra!" He exclaimed, standing up. He walked up to Korra and pulled her into a hug. Korra hesitated for a few moments before she brought her arms up and wrapped them around Bolin's midriff. A few seconds later, they pulled away.

"You're okay." Bolin stated. Korra looked at his shoulder and saw that the arrow that had made its home in his body was gone. "When I woke up and saw that you were gone, I freaked out. Asami had to calm me down and tell me that you were fine, just asleep."

"Asami?" Korra asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"That's me." Korra nearly jumped as the woman came up behind her. She almost forgot that she was even in the room. "I'm Asami."

Korra looked at the woman, Asami. She had just noticed her outfit. She was wearing dark skinny jeans that had a hole in the left knee and covered in grass stains. Her black boots looked like they were covered in a dark substance. Either mud or blood, Korra wasn't sure. She sported a jacket that had dirt caked all over it and the collar up. The shirt underneath the jacket was probably white, though it was hard to tell due to the assortment of black and brown stains. She looked like she had gotten into a wrestling match with a pile of mud and lost.

"Sleep, huh?" Korra asked Bolin, crossing her arms. She turned her head back towards Asami, who just adverted her gaze. Shaking her head, Korra looked back to Bolin. "Did she tell you the reason why I was asleep."

"Nope." Bolin said, nonchalantly. "I assumed it was because you were tired. We have been travelling all day."

"Yeah, sure. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Bolin assured.

"You sure? That arrow caused you to pass out."

"Yeah. I know. That hurt. Wouldn't recommend it. Asami told me that she pulled it free and that I was lucky that it didn't break. I didn't feel anything. She patched up, so the bleeding stopped." Bolin pulled down the shoulder of his shirt and turned around to show Korra his heavily bandaged shoulder. "See?" Pulling his shirt back up, he turned back around. "It kinda hurts to move my shoulder, though. Guess that happens when you get pierced with an arrow."

"The pain should stop within a few days." Asami informed. "Until then, you should avoid moving your shoulder too much, otherwise you might cause the bandages to rip and start bleeding again."

"Alright. And I know I've said this earlier, but thanks."

Asami nodded. She then looked back and forth between Korra and Bolin. She looked like she wanted to say something, but wasn't sure how to word it. Before she could say them, however, Bolin spoke up.

"Hey Korra," He asked. "Where's Mako?"

Mako!

Korra mentally cursed herself. How could she forget about him? She had remembered everything else that had happened today, but had completely forgotten about Mako. Korra looked at Bolin, trying to keep a calm demeanor.

"I...I don't know." Korra admitted.

Bolin just blinked as if Korra had thumped him between the eyes. "What?" He asked.

"I don't know." Korra repeated. "After you passed out, Mako got me over the fence and those things...I don't know, started to ambush him, or something. He said that he would find another way around and he just ran off. I wanted to help but there was no way for me to get back over the fence and you needed help..."

Korra trailed off when she realized her audience wasn't listening to her. Bolin let out a ragged breath before running a hand through his hair. He looked at Korra for a second before closing his eyes. His lower lip quivered a little bit. He seemed to be trying to process the information.

"How long ago was this?" Bolin's asked, his voice shaky.

"Uh, I don't know." Korra replied. She looked at Asami, who was standing silently. "What time is it?"

Asami shrugged. "It's hard to tell." She replied. "It's well past dark, so maybe nine? Ten?"

Korra's eyes widened. How long was she out? She looked back at Bolin. "Maybe about...three or four hours ago?"

Bolin's mouth opened in shock. He shook his head before looking back to Korra. "We have to go find him."

"We will." Korra promised. "But not now. It's way too dark out. We'll end up tripping over our own two feet. And those things out there will just be harder to spot. We'll have to wait until morning."

It took a while before Bolin answered but when he is, it was with a jerky nod. "Okay." His voice almost sounded like he was on the verge of tears. Korra walked up to him and put her hand on his good shoulder.

"Hey," She said, trying to keep her own voice from shaking. "Mako is going to be okay. He's tough as hell. He's probably found somewhere safe to sleep for the night. Don't worry about him."

"He's my brother." Bolin protested as he began to shake. Possibly from trying to hold back his tears. "It's my job to worry about him."

"Don't worry too much. He's fine, okay? He's fine."

"Yeah...he's fine. He's fine."

Korra listened as Bolin repeated those words to himself, hopefully trying to believe them himself. After a while, he sighed and put his head down.

"We'll look for him at dawn." Korra promised.

Bolin nodded and sniffed. Nobody spoke a single word. A full minute had passed before Asami coughed. Korra and Bolin looked at her.

"You guys have to be starving." She said. "If you want, we have extra food. It's nothing fancy, just a few cans of beans and ravioli."

"I'll pass." Bolin muttered. Korra gave him a look of concern.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "You haven't eaten since yesterday."

"I'm fine. I've went longer without food. I just want some sleep."

Korra nodded, understanding that Bolin was just upset and worried for his brother. She watched as Bolin kicked off his shoes and walked back towards the bed, laying on his good shoulder. The position made his back face Korra and Asami. Korra stared at him for a few moments before the taller woman tapped Korra on her shoulder.

"We should give him some space." She said, quietly.

Nodding again, Korra followed Asami out of the room. She closed the door behind her quietly, leaving both of them standing in the hallway.

"Who's Mako?" Asami asked.

"His brother." Korra replied, staring at the closed-door. "We're finding him first thing in the morning."

Asami gave a slight nod. "Well, you should eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"You have to be. You've been out for a while."

Korra huffed. "Yeah, thanks to you." She stated, crossing her arms.

"I told you, I'm sorry. But. please, just get some food in you. You'll need then energy."

"Look, I don't want to eat. No offense, but I don't exactly trust you. I have no idea who you are and what you're capable of."

"That's understandable, not trusting me. I don't trust you either, but I can still help people who need it."

"I didn't need help."

"You did."

"Because I needed so much help when you knocked me out."."

Tension filled the air. It was so thick, Korra could almost feel it pressing into her skin.

"You need to eat." Asami stated firmly, crossing her arms.

"I just said that I wasn't hungry." Korra replied hotly. Why was this woman trying to get her to eat something when she had just said that she wasn't hungry?

"Fine then." Asami said. "You don't have to eat. But you should."

"I'm not going to." Korra confirmed, sternly.

Asami's head moved up and down a few times. She then locked eyes with Korra, blue against green. Asami just sighed. "Okay." She stated, defeated. "Just get some sleep."

Before Korra had a chance to turn around and open the door, Asami spoke up. "Hey." Asami said.

"What now?" Korra asked, irritated.

"I'm coming with you." Asami stated firmly. The statement caused Korra to raise an eyebrow.

"Coming with me where?"

"To find Bolin's brother."

Korra looked as if she hadn't heard her right. "What?" She asked.

"I'm coming with you to find Bolin's brother."

"No, you're not."

"And why can't I?"

"Didn't you hear me before? I don't trust you. How do I know that you won't stab me in the back the first chance you get?"

"If I was going to do that, don't you think I would have done it by now?" Asami asked. "All those chances I had to kill you; while you were outside, when I knocked you out, while you were sleeping...I had all those chances to off you and I didn't. Why would I wait until we go looking for Bolin's brother to kill you when I had at least a dozen opportunities to do it hours ago?"

Korra didn't say anything as she took in Asami's words. She had a point. She could have killed her when she had first saw her and yet, she didn't. What sense would it make for her to do it later?

"Besides," Asami continued. "I have your and Bolin's weapons. I told you that they were locked up and my father and I are the only ones who know the combination to the lock. So, unless you want to go and save Mako using sticks and stones instead of guns and knives, you'll let me come with you."

Putting her head down, Korra thought it over. She didn't want Asami to come along but it seemed like she didn't have a choice. She looked back at the taller woman. The light from the candles made her eyes even more startling than before.

"We leave at first light." Korra finally said. "If you're coming with us, have our weapons by then. We can't waste any time once we get up."

Asami nodded. She didn't say anything. Instead, she gave Korra a quick once over before she sauntered down the barely lit hallway and down a set of stairs.

Korra turned around and opened the door to the room she had woken up in. She walked in and closed the door behind her. She leaned against the door, closed her eyes, and ran her hand through her hair. Once she opened them, Korra walked to both of the candles and blew them out. The room became dark. Walking to the window, Korra pulled back the curtains and moon light ran into the room, making it lighter than it was before. Satisfied that she could see, Korra walked to the bed and laid on it, keeping her shoes on her feet. She laid her head on the pillow as she tried to let sleep overtake her.

It failed, however. It was probably due to the fact that she had been asleep a little while before. Korra stilled held a grudge against Asami for knocking her out. She couldn't understand why she didn't just announce her presence. Yeah, Korra would have pulled out her gun, but she wouldn't have shot her, at least, not in that moment.

Korra started to think about the taller woman. Who the hell was she and why was she helping her? Why did she patch up Bolin and why did she believe that Korra was nice? Korra knew that she wasn't nice. A nice person wouldn't have done all of the things she had done. A nice person wouldn't have killed people that she had never seen a day in her life. A nice person wouldn't leave people behind because they were slowing her down.

 _I did what I had to do._

Asami couldn't tell her that she was a nice person. She couldn't tell her anything. That woman didn't know a single thing about her. She had no idea what she had been through and what she did. If Asami knew even half the stuff Korra was forced to do, she wouldn't be calling her a nice person. What really pissed Korra off was how Asami had just stated that she was going with her and Bolin on their expedition to find Mako and how she basically used Korra's weapons as a way to ensure that she was going. She didn't ask for permission or thought to use any manners. She just told Korra how it was and the shorter woman had reluctantly agreed, seeing how she had no other choice.

Groaning, Korra turned onto the other side, her back facing the window. Her thoughts shifted to Mako. Despite the fact that Korra didn't like him very much, she still hoped that he was okay. She didn't know why she cared if he was okay or not. She didn't understand why she even cared about him at all. Maybe because he was Bolin's brother and, as much as Korra hated to admit it, she actually liked Bolin and cared about his well-being. Which was funny, since Korra hadn't cared about anyone but her family since whole thing had started.

Deciding that she had done enough thinking for one night, Korra turned on her back and closed her eyes. This time, sleep decided to overtake her.

It felt like it had only been a few minutes before Korra was woken up to the sound of hushed voices. Getting up as slowly as possible, Korra quietly made her way to the bedroom door. The voices became louder and louder the closer she got. When she reached the door, she placed her ear against it and began to listen.

"-with them?" Asami's voice quietly whispered.

"We don't know these people, Asami." Another voice stated. The person's voice was deep and commanding. No doubt it was the father that Asami had mentioned before. "They could be dangerous."

"If they were dangerous, we would be dead right about now." Asami's voice argued.

"It doesn't matter if we are dead or not. These people are still dangerous. They could be killers, or cannibals, or..."

"Or they could decent people who were forced to do horrible things just to make it to this point."

"We've all done horrible things but that doesn't mean we should just go with them on suicide missions just because one of their sisters is missing."

"His brother."

"It makes no difference. You are not going with them, Asami."

"And if I do? What if you woke up and discovered that I was gone because I chose to go with them."

"If you go with them, don't bother coming back home."

Korra winced at the harsh words. How could a father ever tell his daughter not to come home? What kind of father, or person, was he? Korra listened. The hallway was deadly silent. Asami was probably trying to wheel in that harsh statement.

"This isn't our home." Korra heard Asami say. "This is a death trap."

"This place is secure." The father replied.

"For now. What happens when those corpses out there break down that fence and come in here? What happens when those people in the woods come over that fence and shoot us in our sleep? Bolin got shot with an arrow. He's lucky to even be alive. Those guys are accurate with those things. It's only a matter of time before they find out that we're still here and..."

"That isn't going to happen."

Korra's eyebrows furrowed. Asami knows about these people? Deciding to question her on that later, Korra continued to listen.

"It will. And I don't what to be here when it does. This place isn't safe. We can't stay here. We have to leave." Asami stated.

"We are not leaving. Those killers aren't going to come in here and those...those things are not going to break down the fence." The father replied, though he sounded unsure.

It became quiet again. Korra took her head off the door for a moment before putting it back on the door.

"Asami," The father said. "Look at me, Sweetie. We can't leave this place."

"Why?" Asami asked. "It's not safe here. We have to go. Please? It's what Mom would..."

"Don't!" The father replied, coldly, his voice causing Korra to flinch. "Do not use her as means to get me to leave."

"I wasn't..."

"You were! Asami, don't. We are not leaving. That's my final decision. And I stand by my word. And listen to me; if you leave, don't even think about returning."

The sounds of footsteps retreating. Korra kept her ear to the door as she heard sniffling. Despite not being able to see it, Korra knew that Asami had tears running down her face as she cried silently. Korra felt like she should say something, that she should make her presence known. She felt like she should open to door and comfort her. She felt like she should do something.

Instead, she tip toed her way back to the bed and crawled back into, pretending that she hadn't heard a single word that was passed between a father and his daughter.


End file.
